I.B.S. #32

1 Corinthians 9:19

- "For though I be free from all man, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more"

Having the power of Christ in our lives gives us that freedom above other men. We are not slaves to man but bondslaves to Christ. Therefore we are not forced to do anything that man tells us we must do, but to first and foremost answer to Chirst. Of course us Christians are called to respect authority, obey our parents, and obey the laws of the land but if our parents, the authority and law over us are corrupted then it is more important to follow what our Lord tells us to do. Just as we see the with apostoles while they did sometimes follow the law of the places they were, they only follow the rules of that which was in accordance with Gods word, and for doing what was right in Gods eyes they were martyrd. We must make ourselves servants to all of those who we are with, because this is where we will gain the more. I love the second part of this verse. Because while people would normally read the word gain and think, success, power, etc. Right now, for some reason, while im reading this I can only think of the word "Grow". When we become servants others, we will grow the more. While we may think that oh if we serve God will give us whatever we want, thats not the case because if there is one thing that i have learned in these past couple of years, is that God will bless us when we bless Him BUT, He will bless us in the way that He knows is best.

I will expect nothing for my service because it is whats required of me.