Among the first commandments God gives to the children of Israel after they’ve left Egypt is a command about servants. The law states that Hebrew servants can only be kept six years, and on the seventh the servant may go free. If he was married, he can take his wife, too. But if he wasn’t married when he became a servant, yet his master gave him a wife and thus they had children, the wife and children stayed behind. It is in this context that we read these powerful verses:

But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

This passage struck me as so incredibly profound as I was reading through Exodus this week. Throughout the New Testament, Christians are called to be bondservants. Christians are, quite literally, to be slaves of God (see Romans 6:16-20, 1 Peter 2:16, 1 Corinthians 7:22). We read it time and again in the New Testament epistles, and for the most part, we would all probably agree with the sentiment. After all, we know we are to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1) and that our Christianity is to be an “all in” type of thing. Yet look back to the verses in Exodus, and ask yourself if this is the type of slave you are.

In Exodus, we see a slave who says firstly, “I love my master,” and thus the servant is marked. While he could go free, he chooses to stay and “serve him forever.” This is the type of slave we’re called to be, is it not? We are to be people who are so in love with our God that, while we could go elsewhere, we hold the same sentiment that Peter voiced in John 6:68: “Lord, to whom are we to go? You have the words of eternal life.”

This life is full of choices. Every day, Satan is bombarding us with fiery darts, seeking to distract us and tempt us away from our ultimate goal. He is seeking to lure us into a life of damnation with him. He has lost the war, and he wants as many casualties as he can get. When we say it like that, it seems a no brainer to stick with the Victor — to stay true to God Almighty. Yet when you put it in everyday language, it gets a little more sticky.

Do we love a human being more than we love our Master? Will we choose to be pierced — to stay and serve our Lord forever — or will we choose a different life. A life free from commandments. A life of chasing our own happiness. Of having whatever relationship we want, regardless of if God has sanctioned it or not.

Do we love the world more than we love our Master? We will willingly stay and be a slave to Him, or will we choose to go after our own desires? We will choose riches and fame and possessions and jobs and sports and entertainment or will we choose to be humble servants? Do we want glory? Do we want recognition? Or do we want Jesus?

I want to be a pierced-in-the-ear slave. A slave who loves my master and chooses to serve Him forevermore. Not because He forces me; no, He’d let me go free. But I want to choose to stay, to have my ear pierced— my loyalty physically marked on my body. I want to choose Him over anything and everything. Do you?