THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS
1102
service done, whether his master according to the flesh pays him or not, on the other hand, “ he that doeth wrong shall receive again for (there ought to be no “ for” in this sentence, it is not found in the Greek) the wrong that he hath done.” The reason of this is “ there is no respect of persons” with God, that is to say, God deals with all men, high and low, masters and ser vants, alike, on the same great prin ciples of absolute righteousness. Every one receives just what he does, no mat ter who he is or to whom he does it. This being so, Paul closes this section with a word for the “ masters’.’ just as solemn, just as searching as his word for the servants, “ Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal (literally, equality).” Servants have rights, slaves have rights, and there is One who will maintain those rights, and that One is Christ. Every master must study to know what is “ just and equal” for his servants, and having found it, he must do it. If he does not he will get into trouble with Jesus Christ. One thing no master must ever forget, viz., that he himself also has a “ master” and that master is in “ heaven” and will deal wit'h him just as he deals with his servants. SATURDAY, Dec. 14. Col. 4:2-4. We haVe come now to ,the closing exhortations of this great letter, vs. 2-6. They are quite like those of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and at the same time they are quite different (cf. Eph. 6:18- 20). We may well he thankful that we have both epistles. First comes the exhortation so frequent in the New Testament, and of such fundamental importance, “ continue steadfastly in prayer” (cf. Acts 6:4, R. V.; Luke 11: 5-13; 18:1; Eph. 6:18; 1 Thess. 5:17)i The one who would lead a victorious life and accomplish much for Christ must not only pray now and then, he must “ continue steadfastly in prayer.” The one thing he sticks to must be praying, praying must he one of the principal businesses of life. He must also have his eyes open for things to pray about, or as Paul puts it, he must he “ watching therein.” True and effec tive praying demands great alertness in mind and spirit (cf. Eph. 6:18 and Notes on the same). There is nothing in which the average Christian is likely to he more drowsy than in prayer. From this fact arises much of the ineffective ness of modern prayer. With the prayer
tian servant will da well to let these words “ In all things” sink into his heart. This obedience “ in all things” must not be rendered “ with (rather, in) eye service (literally, eye serv ices),” i. e. serving when seen and in order to be seen. If we serve “ with eye service’! it will be evident that we are simply seeking to please men (cf. Gal. 1:10) and we must not serve as mere “ men pleasers.” The service must be rendered “ in singleness of heart,” i. e. with a heart that has one all controlling purpose, viz., to please the Lord (cf. Matt. 6:22-24). We should do it not fearing man (cf. Prov. 29:25), but “ fearing the Lord,” shrink ing from anything that would displease Him. Whatsoever the servant does, and much more whatever anyone who is free to choose does, he must “ work heartily (literally, from the soul),” saying I am not doing this as unto my human master, but as “ unto the Lord.” And now still another thought that will make it easy to do this, “ knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance.” Some one may see you, “ Don’t work so hard, your masters won’t pay you.” Simply reply, “ Yes, my Master will pay me. My master is not this man for whom I seem to be working. This man is only my master ‘according to the flesh.’ My real Master is the Lord Jesus. He will pay me.” And what will He pay? “ The recompense of the inheritance.” What inheritance? “ An inheritance incor ruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven.” (1 Pet. 1:4, cf. Rom. 8 :i7 ). Faithful service even to the most unjust master pays, that is, it pays when rendered unto the Lord and not unto men. In emphasizing this thought Paul closes by saying, “ Ye serve the Lord Christ.” The word translated “ Lord” in this sentence is in the Greek the same word that is trans lated “ master” in talking of the recip rocal duties of servants and masters. We seem to serve men; but no, it is really the Christ, God’s Anointed One, whom we serve. If anyone asks us if we have a good master we can all always answer, if we are Christians, “ Yes, I have Christ for my master.” FRIDAY, Dec. 13. Col. 3:25-4:1. While, as seen in v. 24, the servant who obeys his master in all things, and serves in singleness of heart as unto the Lord, will surely receive for the
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs