by Peter Craft
And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." Revelation 5:9
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18 19
We are not used to the idea of being owned, but we are! And who we are owned by makes a big difference to how we live our lives. This much is clear from our bible readings for today. We are purchased, redeemed and bought and so belong to God. But living in a society where we regard ourselves as free; free to think what we want, do what we want, say what we want and be governed by who we want, how are we to understand this concept of being owned?
When the New Testament was being written the practice of slavery or servant hood was common. Slaves or servants did whatever they were told to do and their whole purpose was to please their masters. After all, upsetting your owner could bring swift and unpleasant repercussions. Perhaps the closest we can come to understanding this idea of being owned is by looking at our modern, professional football players. It really does not matter what type of football we are talking about, every professional player is really "owned" by their club in a way many of us find hard to even imagine.
In the case of Australian Rules players, once they are drafted to a club their whole world changes. To make sure that the player fulfills their duty of playing to the required standard while doing their job within the team, the club takes control of every aspect of the player's life. They are directed when and how to train. Team doctors and physiotherapists are employed to look after any injury or illness. Nutritionists monitor their diet and plan their weekly food intakes while psychologists work with the team to develop the correct mental approach. Players have to attend team meetings, promotional functions and other club sessions. All players are trained about the way they are expected to behave as representatives of the club. So they are taught about respect for women, the dangers of drugs or alcohol, how to plan out their career and how to respond to the public or the media. And if players don't learn these lessons and behave badly they are disciplined both by the club and the League. In fact the control over players by the club is so complete, that the parents of one player make sure that they go to his games so that they can see their son. They cannot see him at any other time because of everything he is required to do as a player. All of this happens because the professional footballer has one job and one focus: to keep performing at their absolute peak and win the competition. Nothing can distract them from this goal
Where football clubs buy their players with money, we are bought with something much more costly. As Peter says, Christians are not bought with silver or gold (money) but with the blood (life) of the Son of God Jesus Christ. When a footballer joins a club, that club does everything it can to ensure their player performs and, of course, the player works with the club because it is in their own interest to do so. It is the same with Christians. Once we accept that Jesus bought us, that he paid a price to redeem us, we also accept that God works on us to make us the best that we can be in Him, to make us spiritually fit. Equally, we work with Him to become what Jesus wants us to be. So we use our bodies to serve God and we reject anything that will stop us serving Him. One of our motivations for wanting to be spiritually fit is that we are owned, owned by God and our job is the serve the one who owns us.
I have been married to Alison for 20 years and have five children. We live in a small rural town where I teach science. We worship in the local baptist church where I serve in lay preaching and leading bible studies.
INTRODUCING MY NEW STREETWEAR BRAND, Y.A.H. APPAREL
CHECK ME OUT AT yahapparel.net/
Comments