Love and Commitment — Exo 21:1-6

Love is best understood through commitment, sacrifice, and steadfast devotion. How can we recognize genuine love in ourselves and in others? what exactly is love? We have a rather unconventional scripture for topics like this above.

It's an instruction from God on how Hebrew slaves should be freed or retained after serving out their allotted number of years. A slave is allowed a maximum service year of six, by the seventh year, the master should set him free. There's an interesting clause however.

God outlined some possibilities as it concerns a slave who gets to raise a family within this six year period. Let's take a look at these situations below: 1. The slave got married before becoming a slave.

2. The slave never got married at all. 3.

The master got a wife for the slave. In situations (1) and (2), the slave is free to leave all by himself or with the family as the case might be, but in situation (3), the slave leaves the family behind for the master. The master in case (3) inherits the slave's family while the slave gains a personal freedom.

There's however a rather awkward ruling, God factored in a situation where the slave overtime gets to love His master, his wife given by the master, and the children raised with the wife given by his master. I find it awkward that a slave who should be thinking of being free from a master, gives up his freedom just to continue serving the master forever. If the bible said this condition only concerned the slave getting to love the wife and the children only and giving up his freedom for them then, it's quite understandable.

But how can you end up loving a master who has enslaved you? We can't understand how a slave who should be jubilating by the seventh year would rather choose to love serving the master forever, this is the truest and purest form of love. In our world everyone would call the slave a lunatic, he would be used as a by-word among everyone.

He would be termed a mad man. But, true love is mad. True love does things that appear really stupid, until it looks really stupid, it's never true love.

You cannot love with your senses, once you regain your senses, you've lost love. How can someone decide to be an everlasting slave just because of love? If you cannot understand it, then you can't fall in love.

The major question you should be asking is, how stupid is my love? The more stupid, the more genuine. This is the same situation in our relationship with God.

God blesses you and tells you to go and enjoy your money, but you say you wish to completely serve Him with the same money. Everyone around you thinks you are really stupid, but you're so glad with your commitments. It's time to re-evaluate our lives.

Are you married? If yes, do you do stupid things for your spouse? Are you engaged?

If yes, do you do stupid things for your fiance or fiancee? Are you saved? If yes, do you do stupid things for God?

If the answers to the above come out negative, then you are not in love. When you love, someone at some point would try advising you against your actions. If no one has ever advised you against your commitment to something or someone, then you are not in love.

If you advise anyone against his/her commitment to something or someone, then you cannot love.