My Utmost - Sept 22, 2009

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http://www.myutmost.org/09/0922.html

The Missionary's Master

John 13:13
“Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am.”

Key Passages

• To have a master and to be mastered is not the same thing.

• To have a master means that there is one who knows me better than I know myself, one who is closer than a friend, one who fathoms the remotest abyss of my heart and satisfies it, one who has brought me into the secure sense that He has met and solved every perplexity and problem of my mind.

• Our Lord never enforces obedience; He does not take means to make me do what He wants.

• Master and Lord have little place in our vocabulary, we prefer the words Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer.

• In the Bible obedience is based on the relationship of equals, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not God's servant, He was His Son.

• He wants us in the relationship in which He is easily Master without our conscious knowledge of it, all we know is that we are His to obey.

My Own Thoughts

I love the way Chambers words the idea of having a master... “To have a master means that there is one who knows me better than I know myself, one who is closer than a friend, one who fathoms the remotest abyss of my heart and satisfies it, one who has brought me into the secure sense that He has met and solved every perplexity and problem of my mind.” This whole sentence speaks so deeply to me that its hard to not choke up. My downfall is that I forget I have this master. Somebody who knows me like this. I sit and cry out to know and be known, all the while... I am known.

One piece of imagery that gets to me every time is the image of a father playing with his kids. Picking them up and embracing them, bringing them the sense of security, safety, and love. This idea of a father who knows his children intimately and deeply is something that I strive for myself as a father, it's what I miss about my relationship with my dad, and its what I long for in a very real sense with my heavenly Father. My relationship with my dad was great, and continues to be great. However, I truly miss being picked up by my dad and hugged and completely engulfed in his strength and his love for me. When my dad hugged me I could instantly tell that he loved me completely without condition, and would do anything for me to keep me safe and make it known that he loved me and was proud of me. He was my master as a kid. I want that same thing for my kids. I want that for myself again with my heavenly Father. I know its here for me now, but I can't wait for the day that I actually see and hear and feel His very presence with me in the immediate.