Bondservants...

Do you want to be a BONDSERVANT of the Lord Jesus?

Paul, and others, were called bondservants, or "love slaves" as the Greek word "doulos" describes (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; Tit 1:1, Jd 1:1; Jas 1:1; Rev 1:1; etc). Another definition for this word is "one who is devoted to another to the disregard of his own interests".

In the book of Exodus, we read of becoming a bondservant:

Exodus 21:2-6 "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever."

Notice the special devotion that this servant had to his Master! It's beautiful! Apparently, his love for his Master was greater than that for even his own family! He would rather be in the perpetual presence of One greater, than to go out free and live of his own carnal accord. How precious! Such an uncommonly deep desire for the Master will propel us into such volunteered love-slavery! Our chains are not mere natural ones, but are those that bind via immense spiritual hunger and passion for Jesus! Reader, can you relate to these desires?
To become a bondservant, the master would bore through the servant's ear (against the door post) with an aul.

What exactly does this mean? What does this language portray to us? What implications do these words involve for us?

Personally, I believe that there are three potential phases to the genuine Christian life:
(1) Saved (free)
(2) Discipled (disciplined follower)
(3) Bond-servant (love-slave)
To be a bondservant (as Paul was) is the highest form and fashion of adoration and devotion (Phil 3:14)! Such peculiar devotion is characteristic of the bride of Christ. Actually, Rebekah (who is a type of the Bride in Scripture), her name means, "fettered by beauty; prisoner of beauty".

Wouldn't you like to possess such an ardent heart? I know I would! What a wonderful and fruitful life this is! We are lovingly bound to God's purposes, yet free. We have shifted our bonds from carnal cravings to heavenly ones! With such heavenly desires, there can ONLY be good effects! There can only be 100-fold fruit! One example of such glorious fruit is an opened ear! Observe:

This event that signifies one as a bondservant (the aul through the ear at the doorpost) is also an effect of such great devotion.

When the aul is pierced through the ear, it is symbolic of the opened ear to the Door of the Spirit. This is fruit of an abandoned pursuit of the Master (Matt 11:15; 13:11; Rev 4:1).

A story in Mark 11 illustrates this bondservant principle further. Verses 2-4: "And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him."

Notice this colt occurs with the same instance that the bondservant does; their hearts are synonymous:
(1) he's tied up - he is a prisoner/bondservant.
(2) whereon never man sat - he is reserved for one purpose; he has one singular goal.
(3) by the door - symbolic of the door of the Spirit, that is, the opening to greater revelation and intimacy.
(4) without - outside the camp, that is, outside the norm of nominal and "ordinary" Christian devotion.
(5) where 2 ways meet - a place of choosing... Whose burden will you carry? This colt carries the burden of God's glory. Will you serve Zion or Babylon?

What does a colt do? In this instance, the young colt was freshly broken in order to carry a burden.. As the bondservant, he too was a carrier of the King of Glory: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Zech 9:9).

What a vivid and bountiful illustration this story of the "bound colt" provides for us concerning bondservants! Thank God for His unending gems of truth, found and mined from the mountain of God!

The bondservant possesses this same heart for his Master. He readily chooses to be bound (Gal 2:20), allowing the Holy Spirit to reign supreme: "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the bondservant of Christ" (Gal 1:10). He decides to follow Jesus wherever He may be, even if outside the camp (Heb 13:11-13), away from the mere societal religious norms. Because of such devotion, he has been initiated into the mysteries of God (Matt 13:11)! Such eyes and ears of the Spirit have been purchased by long-suffering endurance, flowing from a love-sick heart. He carries this mantle with him - the bondservant is a vessel for the King of Glory!

I can think of no greater gift and calling!

Jesus, I want to be Your bondservant!