Questions were raised concerning the  authority a minister may appropriately exercise when individuals within said congregation disagree concerning what the Scriptures teach.  This is not unusual.  People will never see eye-to-eye on many things. The thorny question at issue was this: Who or what has the final say in my life and yours, and may we disagree with each other without becoming disagreeable? In my attempts at resolving this concern, an accusation from the leaders surfaced that ‘blindsided’ me.  None of the particulars of this situation were ever revealed or discussed with me and no serious attempt at getting this matter resolved has ever been pursued despite my continuing efforts in discussing this with one leader in particular who I had considered a dear friend of mine for many years.

      I have briefly outlined these circumstances for an important reason.  Last week I asked the small group of people who regularly meet in my home, this question: "How many of you have ever had a real difficulty with forgiveness in your lives? Raise you hand."  Would you be surprised if I told you that every single person in that room raised his/her hand?  Probably not.  Forgiveness is obviously a universal problem from which no one can truthfully claim exemption.  Considering the circumstances in which I found myself with regard to the afore mentioned church leaders, I too have struggled through the thorny issues of forgiveness.  What do the Scriptures teach concerning the mechanics of forgiveness?  What is an appropriate expression of forgiveness?  What would this forgiveness look like if I were to initiate it?  How in the world could I truly be able to forgive these people especially in light of their seeming negligence in seeking an appropriate resolution?  Are there certain conditions that will be met before forgiveness should ‘kick in’?   These were among the many questions and issues that I needed to get settled in my heart if forgiveness/release was to be granted.

      I am very much aware of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding forgiveness--this was probably the very first principle that came to mind as I considered all of the questions that flooded through my mind.  Jesus said; "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).  Yep, that’s pretty clear and straight-forward.  No questions need be asked here--If someone sins against you, just flat-out forgive  him/her.  That’s what Jesus says and ‘come Hell or high water,’ that’s what you have  to do; no doubt about it!  That’s the end of it, right? But it doesn’t feel  that simple (After all,  How many people have felt a profound sense of guilt who have found it nigh impossible to forgive others despite the clear and direct statement that Jesus levels against them here?)  Are there no issues or conditions that must be resolved before our hearts can actually accomplish this? (I honestly think that there is definitely a difference between what we must/should  do, and what we are able to do--a big  difference).

      In the struggles that I had with this whole issue of forgiveness, I was reminded also of a singular teaching of Jesus (though the same theme is discussed by Peter and Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22) in which He said; "If your brother sins, rebuke him, if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him" (Luke 17:3-4).  Wha-aaa . . . . t?  Jesus seems to be saying here that forgiveness may not necessarily be ‘carte-blanche’ or blanket forgiveness,--that an element of condition may or could be involved.  Jesus uses the term ‘if’  at least three times.  Does Jesus tuck a component of ‘condition’  into this whole dilemma of forgiveness?  In my mind, this was a distinct possibility.  But what could that condition be?

      I had to be very careful here.  It could be convenient and very easy to misapply what Jesus actually said in order to use His words to selfishly dismiss this whole mess and outright refuse to forgive these leaders, justifying my decision based on His words in Luke 17:.  In my mind it sounded like Jesus was saying, forgiveness may not necessarily be triggered until repentance and a request for forgiveness are forthcoming.  Thus I had no obligation to God to release them until those components were freely offered to me by them.  Case closed, Right?!  And yet . . , the nagging thought that Jesus had planted in my head--and heart resonated over and over again;  ". . . If you do not forgive them their sins, your Father will not forgive your sin."  It was critical that I not force what Jesus said on two separate occasions and make them support two very different and contradictory conclusions.  What did Jesus say and what did He truly mean by what He said?  What a confusing and troubling dilemma!

      For a period of years, I have continued to work through many of the questions and issues surrounding this problem of forgiveness.  I kept these thoughts and other conflicting ideas fairly close to my heart, speaking openly and rarely to only one or two good friends during that entire time.  The conclusions that I had finally come to, I kept to myself because they sounded foreign and rather unorthodox, but the time was fast approaching when I could no longer have the comfort of keeping them close to heart.  We had scheduled that very evening a study in our home.  A small group of good friends were going to be there to discuss these same issues involving ‘forgiveness’.  One of the Scripture lessons was to be Luke 17:3-4.  I had to to decide how I should deal with these ‘if’ statements from Jesus.

     That’s where Steve Brown comes in (by now you are surely wondering about the connection between him and my discussion of forgiveness in this piece).  During the previous week I had been praying--asking for God’s guidance and wisdom in this whole matter and how I was going to teach these things.  Well, the next week (that is, last week) on Tuesday morning (our study was to be that evening), my radio alarm came on and as usual there was Steve Brown’s mellow resonating voice speaking of something that I no longer remember.  But the very last thing he said (and I will never forget that) was; "It is vital that we do for God what He has done for us!"  My mind very naturally and immediately turned to the obvious theme that had been on my mind for well over a week (actually years)--God has forgiven us and so we are obligated to Him to forgive others!

      That was the end of Steve’s program and I promptly hit the ‘snooze’ button.  In the six or seven minutes that I had before the radio would again come on and beckon me to climb out of bed, I prayed.  Again I asked for the wisdom, insight and courage for what I was facing for that coming evening’s study.  I asked our Lord to give me a better understanding of what I had studied and learned and what I would be compelled to teach in just a few hours.  And finally, I did the one thing that I have never done before--I said (more as an afterthought than anything else); "Are you gonna show, Lord?!"  At that very moment, the radio came on and the exact first word I heard was; ‘Forgiveness’ .  During the next ten minutes, the round table discussion of participants on ‘Radio Bible Class’ spoke to every single point, question and issue right down the line, that I had ever considered in my struggle for peace regarding our quest to forgive others!  I had my lesson for the evening and confidently presented it without a hint of concern or hesitancy!

       But, here is the rest of the story! The next day, I pulled Steve Brown’s entire lesson up on my computer because, like usual, due to my tendency to fall in and out of sleep during his broadcasts, I had only heard bits and pieces of it.  I wanted to hear the context of what he had to say, but I especially wanted to hear what he had said in the final moments of his lesson.  I wanted to hear the exact words (the terminology of the quote I had used in my Tuesday evening lesson) to make sure I had gotten it right.  I was astounded!  Though I carefully listened to every syllable of that message two or three times over, I found that he had NEVER said;  "It is vital that we do for God what He has done for us!"  I had distinctly heard the statement in that deep resonating voice with my very own ears, but . . , Steve Brown had  never said it!   . it!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       [more to come]                                                                                                                                         

      I don’t think I have ever been a model employee and this was particularly true during my employment at the bakery factory where I worked for twenty eight years.  However, during that time, I experienced my share of shabby treatment from both my co-workers and supervisors in that place.  Whether I was responsible or not for the many conflicts that I experienced there, my heart was fully determined to resolve the difficulties that I had with the various people in that place.  I was staunchly devoted to the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ (see II Corinthians 5:18-20), the divine mandate to do my very best to get matters settled between myself and others.  I soon found that many of these people had no intention nor any interest whatsoever at restoring our fractured relationships.  There was simply no spiritual desire to do anything about this sad situation.  Rather, they not only preferred  the constant state of conflict, resentment, contempt and bitterness; they promoted  and cultivated   it as well.

      I learned some important lessons during this very difficult period of time as my heart did the unbelievably hard work of incessantly seeking solutions and answers for restoring these shattered connections.  First and foremost, it was simply not going to happen.  My strong commitment to reconciliation was not strong enough. The required cooperation from others was not there and likely would never  be. This realization compelled me to abandon my attempts at resolution.  Reconciliation requires  accountability from everyone involved.  I came to understand that my best efforts to make these people accountable and responsible for their own attitudes and actions was no longer possible.  In their hearts, there was no sense of need or desire for reconciliation and so the only option left open to me was to release  them from these obligations, and forgive them.  And I have.

      I am now forced to accept the extremely slow and painful understanding that the situation at the bakery factory as I was compelled to leave it, is likely very much the same one that I face with the church leaders previously mentioned here.  My commitment to reconciliation has driven me to extreme lengths (they must acknowledge this) in challenging their accountability in this matter.  Over the last couple of years I have gone way out of my way, taking various approaches in order to engage these people to assume an appropriate role in resolving the differences between us.  All to no avail.

      Being the spiritual leaders of a church, one would imagine that there should be an absolute, even eager dedication to the principle of the "ministry of reconciliation" as outlined by the Apostle Paul and demanded by our Lord.  Sadly, I have found this devotion entirely lacking.  There simply seems to be no spiritual desire to get these matters that are causing this deep rift between us finally resolved.

      Spiritual leaders that are just that-- spiritual leaders, will always be committed to the principle of reconciliation.  I guess that is why I am so saddened and disappointed to realize that these leaders with whom I have experienced a break in relationship, seem in many ways to be quite like the people in the bakery factory.  They have seemed to have abandoned their spiritual mandate to be committed to the ministry of reconciliation.  I have demanded accountability to both myself and to them, but for whatever reason, they have consistently refused to be held responsible for the admittedly hard work of reconciliation. 

      The work of reconciliation is finished whenever people either finally accept, or  reject the call to accountability.  All that remains is the responsibility to forgive.  And that burden may either be one of joy or great sadness.  Once the work of reconciliation (the attempts to get issues resolved) is finished, whether it succeeds or fails, forgiveness kicks in and the impulse to genuinely forgive is surprisingly abrupt and complete.  For me, the light came on when the work of reconciliation was finished, and the burden carried in my heart for so many years had been lifted; I have forgiven these people once and for all, and what a ‘watershed moment’ it has been for me!  By God's grace, I have done the unbelievably difficult--even 'gut-wrenching' work of reconciliation and forgiveness.  And I PRAISE GOD!!

From Steve Brown of KeyLife

ImagebyThomasHawk http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/2.0/deed.en                                                                                                                                                                         behavior.  We keep it close at hand and dearly embrace it--for a while. But somehow through the course of living, the dust begins to settle and the surge of enthusiasm that this truth had once stirred within us begins to wear-off. Deep within we intuitively realize that it no longer works for us. IT HAS BECOME TOO FAMILIAR. We have taken it for granted . We have come to forget how vitally important these principles truly are. And we have failed to hold them close to our hearts in favor of other more pressing though less urgent concerns.

      Perhaps part of the problem comes from the feeling that there are just too many details for us to remember, and to remember them vividly!!  It is in the work (and it is work) of remembering, focusing and utilizing the energies we have been given that they retain their value. It is in the exercise of self discipline that we begin to keep all that we are learning fresh, robust and in a healthy state of balance.

      Consider the excellent advice Paul gave to the Roman believers;

      Paul instructed the Romans to focus their energies on God and His nurturing as they refused to be immersed into the thinking and living of the worldly culture that threatened to engulf them. This advice is a good fit to the description of God’s person in Psalm 1:        

          
       The key to keeping the magic of the simple truths that have had such a deep impact in our lives, and the process of reclaiming those that have lost their luster or ceased to inspire awe and wonder within us, though simple, is a grueling and formidable task: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23 [NIV]).

       However, the payoff for keeping God’s realities a vital part of our lives is amazing:

      Here are some simple truths that have touched my life deeply through the years (and they still do!):

_______________________________________________________________________________________[Most Scripture references are taken from The Message]
      Earlier this summer I came across another thought that has captured my imagination and energized my thinking.  It is the response of a friend of mine to the comments of an atheist/agnostic(?) denigrating the efforts of believers as they attempted to communicate the gracious message of the Gospel to others. Such efforts were characterized as ‘pushing our agenda’ off onto others to satisfy some deep need to belong--so as "not to feel like an outcast." My friend wrote in part; ". . . sharing our faith isn't born out of some misplaced sense of belonging. We already belong. We belong to Him . . . and He satisfies those longings much better than a lover, a friend, a mother, a father . . . and we want to share Him with the world not because we want more people who are like us, but because we know that He is perfect, and amazing, and loving . . . and He is the best thing we can spend our lives telling others about."

      She went on to suggest that if someone were to come up with a serum or drug that genuinely and effectively cured all forms of cancer, it would be the epitome of negligence not to do everything in one’s power to see that all who needed it  be given access to it--even if many refused its benefits. My friend then closed her remarks with this powerful statement: "Well . . . we have something much greater than the cure for cancer. We have the cure for death!" (I Corinthians 15:54-- "Death has been swallowed up in victory!").

      I needed this observation to challenge me . . . and to remind me that God is still good even when the sun/Son is shadowed by the clouds:

      " . . . When it’s dark and it’s cold and I can’t feel my soul- You are still good. When the world is gone gray and the rain’s here to stay- You are still good. With every breath I take in I’ll tell you I am grateful again and the storm may swell even then it is well- And you are good. So how can I thank you and what can I bring?   What can a poor man lay at the feet of a King? So I’ll sing you a love song it’s all that I have To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in Your hands. So I’ll sing you a love song it’s all that I have To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in Your hands You are holding my life in your hands."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Point of Grace--

                                                                                                
       What is it about a good mystery that enthralls us so? What is it that is so appealing and becomes so compelling? What are the elements of a good mystery?

       It’s a story that gives us a ‘feel’ for what’s going on--a good picture or idea of the overall plot. And yet in the telling of the story, key elements go missing--elements we want to know about, and we are ‘hooked’--inexorably drawn to explore its unknown depths despite the hidden potential dangers that may confront us.  And there is always that uncertainty; the component of danger or potential danger (what would a classic suspense film be without that eerie background music that tells us something very ‘sinister’ or frightening is about to happen?).

       It’s like the image above. The terrain, objects and structures may have a familiarity about them and yet--they are shrouded in a mist or fog so that though there is a recognition of them, we also sense that there may be or is a reality just beyond the reach of our fingertips, obscured by the shadows or darkness--a reality that bodes danger to our well-being. Still, the draw is there--irresistible, so that we simply must move on to discover what is there or what may happen.

       That is what pulls us into the mystery of God. We know a lot about Him, but there is so much more of Him that is beyond our grasp or understanding. It is a mystery which even the angels have longed to know about (I Peter 1:10-12). In His story, the great mystery of God, He beckons us to "Come to [Him], all . . .who are weary and burdened, [so that we might find] rest. . . .[and be challenged to] learn from [Him] . . . ." (Matthew 11:28-29).

       The mystery is that we are baptized into Christ--and He comes into our lives; "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you . . . . On that day you will realize that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." (John 14:18-20). It is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are . . . ! What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:1-3).

       God continues to call us into His mystery--to learn about it and to enter into it. He provides both the courage and determination to move ever more deeply into the mystery--the mystery of God!!

                                                                                                                                                              LAW--

       As a result, they simply satisfy themselves with reading their Bibles and praying with the High Holy attitude that they will avoid getting their lily white spiritual hands soiled and just let Him take care of all that ‘messy' stuff. Isn’t that what God is for, after all?!

       But do we actually get away from the tawdry elements of politics by ignoring what goes on around us and burying our noses in the ‘squeaky clean’ and holy pages of our sacred Bibles? Think again! I ‘Double-Dog-Dare’ (No! ‘Triple-Dog-Dare’) you to read the book of Esther clean through, and then tell me that politics should have no place whatsoever in our lives!

       Esther opens steeped in the very realm of politics. The king of Persia felt he must depose his queen Vashti because she had openly refused to display her beauty to the king’s dignitaries from all over the Persian Kingdom who were assembled at his grand feast. His advisors suggested that news of her refusal would spread like wildfire throughout the Persian Empire and wives everywhere would follow Vashti’s example and refuse to show proper respect and obedience to their husbands--an intolerable situation!

       Young damsels from all over the kingdom were gathered together at the palace in Susa from which one would be selected as the new queen. Enters a Jew named Mordecai (the cousin of Esther), who brought her into this royal contest where she was finally selected to be Xerxes‘ new queen.

       Some time later, Mordecai who was an attendant in the king’s court, thwarted a plot to assassinate the Persian king (Why?-Let God take care of It!). And still later, there was an even more extensive and insidious threat directed against the entire race of Jews throughout the empire of Persia. Haman, a high government official in the king’s court championed this legal attempt to wipe every Jew from off the face of the earth. The remainder of this story recounts the various political maneuvering and intrigues that eventually brought Haman’s royal standing and life to an ignoble end in his wicked scheming against Mordecai, Esther and their people.

       I suppose the part of this story that intrigues me the most is Esther’s refusal to do what we might call ‘taking the high road’ in all of this. Once Haman had convinced King Xerxes to issue the public decree that all Jews should be put to death on such and such a date, Mordecai sent Queen Esther a warning concerning this new law:

       Esther could have decided that she need not risk her life for her people by appearing before the king in the King’s court uninvited. She could have chosen not to ‘dirty’ her hands in this matter. She need not do this. Why not whole heartedly trust God to do what was needed in rescuing her people from certain extinction? After all, wouldn’t that be the more spiritual thing to do? Instead, Esther actually chose to do something about the situation! She acted and in that action her people were spared annihilation! And through it all, God in human politics was the elephant standing in the middle of the room. No, He is not mentioned anywhere in the book, but He was there and He was very much involved in the politics of that book as they played out in each and every scene.

       In the 1930's and 40's, Dietrich Bonhoffer, an eminent Lutheran scholar early on opposed the emerging Nazi Regime in Germany. He recognized almost immediately the extreme danger posed by Hitler, its leader, whose power had morphed into the Nazi Party. Hitler’s ambitions were set into motion as he ramped up the armaments of the German army. Before long, the Third Reich began its anticipated conquest of Europe through the invasion of Poland. Bonhoffer joined the German underground resistance against the Nazis and later became an active participant in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler and put an end to the madness. In 1945, the plot to end Hitler’s life was uncovered and Bonhoffer along with six other co-conspirators were hung.

       Why would Bonhoffer, a believer, allow himself to be involved in such a scheme? Do you suppose it had anything to do with the many suffering people he saw in his country? Large numbers of them had lost their jobs and businesses. They had lost their homes. In fact by the time he joined the conspiracy, many--many were losing their lives. By the end of the war, the lives of eleven million people (six million were Jews) had been snuffed out. As a Christian, perhaps though he may have been opposed to the murder of one man, he was even more opposed to the murder of hundreds of thousands and millions of others!

       A lot of people in Germany probably had a lot of faith in God to take care of the things that they tried not to see--that they tried to think was beyond anything they could do. They probably thought they should leave it in God’s hands and believed He would do what needed to be done. So they did nothing. Dietrich Bonhoffer did something, but he failed. And in that failure, was he wrong? What if he and the others had succeeded in killing Hitler? Would that have made a world of difference? Would that have elevated him to a place at the side of Esther and Mordecai as a hero? But he failed!  Did that make him a fool--or stupid--or a sinner? At the end of the day of Bonhoffer’s execution, the sun went down in the West and the next morning, the sun came up in the East. Life. . . and death marched on.

       If you actually allow yourself to mull it over in your head, you might conclude that Bonhoffer gave up his life for politics. Was it worth it? Was it that God-awful important? Why did he do it? I don’t think it was for the purpose of notoriety or fame or financial gain. I think, of course, it had more to do with the deep grief and pain he experienced at seeing massive numbers of people suffering, and his desire to see that the suffering end in the death of Hitler. But I think it was deeper still! I think he did what he did because he was convinced beyond a doubt that this was what he had to do because he was convinced that this was what his God was demanding of him. He could not do anything less than what he had chosen to do.

       During his involvement in the Resistance Movement, do you suppose Bonhoffer ever got strange looks from members of his own family during holiday dinners or family gatherings? (perhaps, perhaps not!). How many times did they ‘roll their eyes’ as he entered the room or make condescending remarks indicating that they considered him to be a ‘loon’ or even a ‘bottom feeder’ on the ladder of life because of his political involvement and idiotic ‘life’ choices? But he obviously had chosen to believe in God so much, that to do nothing was totally unacceptable to him in the conviction that God was demanding that he do something. And something he did. And it cost him his life.

[I don’t think Dietrich Bonhoffer particularly liked what he felt compelled to do, and often, neither do I!]

    In the early 1930's there began to appear in every doorway, on every street corner--at every major entrance to public areas a ‘one word sermon’ throughout the city of Sydney, Australia. It was the yellow chalked word "Eternity" written in a distinctive cursive style. For twenty some odd years, the citizens of the city wondered over this single word enigma materializing everywhere. One day, Lisle Thompson the pastor, discovered Arthur Stace, a lowly janitor and prayer leader of his church, scrawling that one word message on the sidewalk. The mystery had been solved.

    Stace explained that since his conversion to Christ, he had heard an evangelist in a sermon cry out; "Eternity! Eternity! O that it could be emblazoned across the streets of Sydney!" Thus, in his simple way, Stace decided that was what he would do! And so, til his dying day, Athur Stace did just that very thing. And for 40 years, the penetrating one worded message; ‘Eternity’ challenged every eye--and heart that encountered it.

     It might even come as a surprise to many that though the Scriptures do not encourage slavery, as a whole, neither do they overtly nor actively oppose or condemn the practice.  Free believers were encouraged not to seek to become slaves and believing slaves were instructed to free themselves if the opportunity arose (see I Corinthians 7:20-24).  Slavery wasn’t and isn’t a pleasant reality.  However, overall the Scriptures presuppose its existence and presume its continuing presence in some form throughout human history. 

     During the life of Jesus and after, slavery was so prevalent that it has been said that over half the population of Rome itself, was made up of slaves or servants of some kind.  And it may be an interesting side note that the faithful practice of Christian principles as taught from the Scriptures had as much to do with its demise in the Roman Empire as any other force that operated in the world at that time.  Consider Paul’s letter to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, a run-away slave who fled to Rome and ‘by chance’ became acquainted with the then incarcerated Apostle Paul.

     Servant-hood (perhaps a more benign synonym for ‘slavery’) has always meant that people were owned by other people for bad or for good.  Servants/slaves had very few rights.  For the most part, they were subject to the pleasure, or displeasure of their masters.  They could be sold (with or without their families) on a whim, or even killed with relative impunity.  When the founders of our nation like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson (who owned slaves) are held up as prime examples of leadership, benevolence, honesty, wisdom and integrity, almost invariably someone will malign them as nasty evil subhuman slave owners as if that in and of itself was an unspeakable crime.  For the most part, however, the writers of Scripture treated it simply as a reality--a part of life, without attaching any intrinsic good--or evil to it.  It just was!

     Like everything (and I do mean everything) that is touched by the dark stain of humanity in its perversity, the perception of slavery will not endure in-depth scrutiny without the proverbial ‘black eye’.  It’s designation matters little; ‘slavery’ or ‘servant-hood’, because of the vast abuses associated with its practice,  is almost universally considered a despicable institution.  It doesn’t matter that many foreigners arriving penniless in America, basically sold (or ‘rented out’) themselves to citizens of our country for an agreed number of years of service in order to stay and live in America.  At the end of the agreement, many of these indentured servants (slaves) went on to purchase land of their own or established businesses and lived as free and successful citizens of this country.

     Slavery is not intrinsically evil.  Employing it as a tool to subjugate, exploit, abuse and humiliate is.  But I suspect the view that slavery could ever be a device of blessing  is pretty much beyond the realm of possibility in our thinking.

     And so the life and times of Abraham (originally Abram) I suppose, should be an enigma to us.  By our way of thinking, compared to just about anyone in his time, Abraham had become filthy rich--and that primarily because of God.  He was pretty much a  wanderer (though a wealthy one at that!).  He had herds and flocks and possessions out the ‘wahzoo’--not to mention the vast amounts of gold and silver he had accumulated.  There were over 300 men in his household and he wielded tremendous power and influence over the regional rulers and people that lived around him.  You would think, therefore, that Abraham, with all of this, hadn’t a care in the world.  But you would be wrong--he did! 

     Yahweh God, on occasion, came to Abraham to encourage him and assure him of the many good things He wanted to provide Abraham and his family.  God blessed him and Abraham, the ‘friend of God’ flourished.  At one such time, Abraham complained to Yahweh;

      "God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I’m childless and Eleazer of Demascus is going to inherit everything?’  (Question: Who was Eleazer?!)  Abraham went on; "See, you’ve given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all!"  (Genesis 15:2-3).

      In Abraham’s home, Eleazer was a house servant or slave--a slave that would have inherited everything belonging to Abraham if his household had remained childless.  Eleazer, though a slave, was extremely valuable to Abraham.  Once Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah and had come of age, Eleazer was entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of locating and securing a suitable wife for Isaac.  Eleazer carried out this responsibility flawlessly, traveling into the far Northern country of Padan Aram, locating Abraham’s extended family, successfully negotiating with Rebekah’s family and returning her safely to Palestine where she became Isaac’s wife.  Eleazer repeatedly showed himself to be completely reliable and loyal to Abraham and his entire family.  In fact, after reviewing the amazing story of Abraham and Eleazer (though, of necessity, there must be a lot of ‘reading between the lines’ for the scarcity of information), the only reasonable conclusion to be reached is that this house slave in reality became an essential part of Abraham’s family and had been greatly blessed in it along the way.  I just don’t think this was or is typical of any ‘run of the mill’ master/slave relationship.

     Generally speaking, from our limited understanding of what slavery is about, I suspect we would not consider slave-hood to be a viable career option.  I doubt it would be in the top 10 or even top 100 list of desirable vocations.  Who would gladly choose to be a slave?!  The Apostle Paul would!--and so would Peter and James (the half brother of Jesus) and Jude (another brother of Jesus)*.  In fact, the follower of Jesus who has come to understand what being a servant/slave (‘doulos’ is the Greek word for ‘bond servant’) to Jesus Christ is all about, gladly assumes that position as the highest calling that a person might attain in this life.   Believers of Christ are His slaves.  They call Him their ‘Lord’ and ‘Master’ and that is what He is!  As slaves they must follow His commands--His marching orders.  (An interesting aside is that Jesus Himself is designated–‘The Servant [Slave] of the Lord’/"My servant"--Isaiah 53:11).

     The interesting ‘twist’ to all of this is that though the followers of Jesus are indeed His servants/slaves, like Eleazer of Demascus was in the household of Abraham, they have become much more!   Jesus spoke to His disciples: "I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning.  No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father" (John 15:15 [MSG]).

     But this still is not the half of it!  As believers, we are far more than the friends  of Jesus!  We have become ‘Family’.  The Apostle Paul states both a stark and wonderful contrast: "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Romans 8:15-16 [NIV]).

*Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:1, James 1:1,I Peter 1:1 and Jude 1.