I subscribe to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale’s Facebook page and have been really blessed by the comments the community of believers has left there.  On today’s post their “Truth for Today” was,  “God wants us to serve Him because we want to, not out of guilt, obligation, or fear…” Psalm 100:2.

How true!  The Christian life is one that flows out of love for God.  We change and become more like Him, doing what He wants us to do, not because there’s a rule book to follow, but because we’ve truly come to see who He is… and we love Him! 

The post really spoke to me because just the day before I had been meditating on the fact that the Apostle Paul called himself a “bond-slave” to Christ Jesus.  My NIV doesn’t bring that out, simply using the term “servant”, but the NASB brings out the rich meaning that Paul was intending to convey as he began his letter to the church in Philippi.  He was no mere ordinary servant… he was a voluntary slave to Christ! 

Paul, in calling himself a bond-slave was saying that he VOLUNTARILY became a slave to Jesus for the rest of his life, laying down all his rights OUT OF LOVE for his master.  (See Exodus 21:2-6)  This is awesome!  The motivating force was Christ’s love for Paul… which caused Paul to lay down his life and love Jesus with everything in him.  (Galatians 2:20)