Yes, I Can. No, I Won’t.
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. (I Corinthians 9:19)
Imagine you are driving, and you come to a place in the road where you must merge into oncoming traffic. You see a yield sign. Do you speed up to go through it, or do you slow down and let others go first? The government wants us to yield. That is what Christ did. He yielded Himself to our needs. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s not thinking about yourself at all.
With that humility, Christ yielded Himself up as our substitute who paid the penalty of death. He also provided us with His perfectly righteous life. Since the Spirit of Christ is poured into us, we can forget ourselves and put the needs of others first. To yield to the needs of others is the nature of a living faith.
So, Paul writes, Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. (I Corinthians 9:19)
Paul followed a yield sign. To avoid having anyone reject Christ as their Savior because they thought Paul was just out to get their money, Paul yielded his right to receive a salary. In essence, he said, “Yes, I can” but “No, I won’t.” Yes, I can receive a salary from you rightfully, but no, I won’t, so that no one will refuse to hear Christ because he thinks I only want money.” Paul did not want anything to stand in the way of God’s word being heard.
With faith we understand what Luther said about Christians, “A Christian is a free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a slave to all, servant to everyone.”
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we praise you for yielding your life to us and our desperate need. You loved us so much that you would sooner die for us than live without us in heaven. We praise you putting faith into our hearts. Continue to grow your life in us so that we may more and more yield to answering others’ needs. Amen.