A Slave for Jesus

St. Paul was a man willing to do whatever it took to persuade people to become followers of Jesus Christ. Listen to his extraordinary words: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law.…To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel.” Paul was a true believer.
During the 19th century the Dutch ruled a part of South America that is now called Suriname. Off the coast of that Dutch colony there was an island that some missionaries wanted to reach for Jesus. Most of the islanders were slaves and the plantation owners forbade the missionaries access out of fear of what would happen if the slaves became Christians. They were concerned that outside influence could cause an uprising. As a result, the plantation owners made a rule that effectively excluded missionaries from their property. It said that only slaves may talk to slaves.
Do you know how those missionaries responded to this edict? They sold themselves into slavery. In spite of the harsh treatment and the tropical diseases, they worked on the plantations for the rest of their lives.
Like St. Paul, they became slaves to reach lost people for Jesus.

Related Scripture: I Corinthians 9:19-23

© 2007 Leith Anderson