1 “Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:
2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 “If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. 5 “But if the slave plainly says, `I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to 1God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a female slave, she is not to go free as the male slaves do. 8 “If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He does not have authority to sell her to a foreign people because of his unfairness to her. 9 “If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. 10 “If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. 11 “If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.
The example here is a human one, but it has an interesting correlation to our relationship to God. We are like slaves that He has purchased. He already paid the price on Calvary, and everything we have is a gift from Him. It all rightfully belongs to God. However, we have a choice, much like the slave. God has released us from obligation and given us the freedom to choose, no matter how odd that seems. If we choose Christ, and the things He has given us, we become permanent slaves, marked for life. Are you marked? Are you honoring that commitment? Even still, once we have made that choice, it is up to us to fulfill it. He will not force anything on us (He may send a few hints our way). Honor the choice you have made. And if you haven’t made the choice, think about the price that was paid. Jesus gave His life so that you could have yours to choose.