What do you think of if I say “love slave”? There is a beautiful picture of the real meaning in the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. God was telling the Israelites about the requirements of the Sabbath Year which was every seventh year in their calendar. All debts were to be forgiven and if you had a slave, they were to be set free.

However, what if the slave did not want to go? “And it shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you”(Deuteronomy 15:16).

If that happened there was a special ceremony marking the slave for the rest of his or her life. “Then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever” (Verse 17). The slave would bear an earring that basically said to all: “I chose this; I am a voluntary slave for the sake of love.”

Are you a bond servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Paul, Peter and James often called themselves such in their greeting when they wrote letters to the churches. Their Jewish audience readily understood the original imagery. They did not want to go free; they wanted to be a love slave of the Lord for life.

Have you called on Jesus to be your Savior? That’s wonderful – you have made the right choice. But have you also called on Him to be your Lord and Master? Did you ever say to Him; “I will not go out from you”?

Well then, you know what that makes you.