Status of Kings, Duties of Slaves

When you think of a king, you don't normally think of all the dirty work that it takes to keep a kingdom running. In fact, I'm bold enough to say that most kings have never touched mud or worked 12 to 14 hours straight in a day with harsh conditions and back-straining work. On the flip-side, it'd be safe to say that most slaves will never get the chance to be considered "king" for even a second. Slaves do all the work and for no pay; they work in order to stay alive.

Because of our love and faith in Christ, we have been made complete through Him and now appear perfect in God's sight who then gives us underserved privileges (Romans 5:2). On the other hand, we are far from being perfect here on earth; therefore, we must allow the Holy Spirit to continuously work on us so that we can become more and more like Christ.

All at once we have the status of kings, and the duties of slaves. We feel the presence of Christ and the pull of sin. We have comfort in being able to be in God's presence, but we still feel the strain of this world's urge to have us as its own. We have been guaranteed eternity with Christ because of our belief and faith in Him, but we still have a lot of work to do here on Earth.

In Romans 1:1, Paul humbly calls himself a "slave of Christ Jesus" who was "chosen by God to be an apostle ('one who is sent') and sent out to preach His Good News." Like Paul, as Christians we should consider ourselves "slaves of Christ Jesus" who are completely dependent and obedient to our beloved Master.

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives us the authority to carry out the Great Commission, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." It is our duty as Christians to tell others about Christ; we must not allow things of this world to stand in the way of the job our Master has given us.

Are you doing the work that Christ has called you to do? Is your faith in Christ accompanied by action? If not, then your faith is dead (James 2:17). For those who have been given status like that of a king, yet don't submit themselves to Christ as slaves and do what He commands us to do, are not showing others that they are right with God (James 2:24). Choose today to submit yourself to Christ. Strive to please Him in all that you do, and rely on the strength He gives us in order to do all that He commands us to do.