Psalm 123 - My eyes

Read: Psalm 123 vs 1-4

There are different words that the Bible uses to describe someone who believes in God and is seeking to live in obedience to Him. The Old Testament talks about a ‘people’ living in a ‘covenant’ relationship with Him, people responding in ‘faith’, ‘walking in the light’, citizens in His ‘Kingdom’. In the New Testament followers of Jesus as described as ‘Christians’, ‘followers of the way’, and disciples.

I wonder however if when you think of yourself do you ever think of yourself as being a servant? That description of what it means to be a person of faith crosses both Old and New Testaments. (Different versions of the Bible use the word ‘servant’ and ‘slave’ at different times.) Today in Psalm 123 the pilgrim on the road to Jerusalem is pictured as lifting their eyes to the LORD enthroned in heaven ‘as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master’ (vs 2).

In the New Testament in 1 Corinthians there was a situation where different people in the church were identifying themselves as ‘followers’ of different leaders. Paul steps in to this debate and says ‘What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task.’

It’s interesting that this picture, of the Christian as a servant, which is so foundational to the teaching of the Bible, is actually so under used today. We are servants, servants of our Lord who came ‘to serve’ (John 13:13-17).

In a culture that has largely done away with the role of servants, and in a time in history when (we rightly) reflect so negatively on anyone being a slave of another person, there is something profound about the call to see our whole identity bound up in the fact that we are servants, and that we find our true selves in keeping our eyes on our Master, who is merciful vs 2-3), a Master in whose service is found perfect freedom.

Prayer: Lord sometimes we miss the big things. Time and again the Bible tells us that we are servants. You call us to serve You and to serve others. This is a profound re-orientation of how I often see myself. Please help me today to lift my eyes to Jesus, the King who came to serve. In His Name. Amen.