Sons & Servants

As we sang along to "Semi" (Asaphs' Tent) in church one Sunday morning, one line stopped me mid-worship.

"I am Your servant, You are the Lord."

I have sung those words so many times before.

But that morning - something about them settled differently in my spirit. Not as a declaration I was making in the moment. As a question I found myself sitting with long after the song ended.

Am I living as His servant? Or am I living as His son?

And - is there even a difference?

Here is what I have been thinking about.

Servants do the will of their master. No complaints. No questions. Just obedience. Their identity is tied to their function - when the master speaks, the servant acts.

Sons, on the other hand, have free will. They can obey or rebel. They can question. They can delay. They can negotiate. Because sonship carries privilege - and privilege, left unchecked, quietly becomes the illusion of autonomy.

And yet - we ARE sons and daughters of God. Scripture is clear about that. Romans 8:14-15 tells us we did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but we received the Spirit of sonship. We are heirs. We are beloved. We are family.

And yet.

Being a son does not exempt me from submission.

It does not give me the right to pick and choose which of God's instructions I will follow. It does not mean I get to negotiate with Him about His plans for my life.

Sonship without servanthood is just entitlement.

I can claim my identity as a child of God all I want. I can declare that I am seated with Christ in heavenly places. I can quote every promise of inheritance in Scripture. But if I do not also carry the HEART of a servant - the one who goes wherever the Lord leads, without questioning - then I have missed the point entirely.

Jesus Himself modelled this. He is the Son of God. Fully divine. Fully entitled to every privilege of heaven.

And yet - what did He say?

"I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38)

The Son submitted as a servant.

So what does this look like practically?

It means I am deeply loved by the Father - and I still obey Him without hesitation.

It means I have access to His presence, His promises, and His provision - and I still say "yes, Lord" before I know the details.

It means He has given me free will - and I WILLINGLY surrender it back to Him every single day.

This is what it means to submit to our Father's WILL always. Not because we are slaves who have no choice. But because we are sons and daughters who trust that He knows BEST.

I will not pretend this is easy.

Surrendering is not my default. Questioning is. Negotiating is. Wanting to understand the full plan before I commit is.

I will be honest: I used to think that if I just had more information, more clarity, more certainty about where things were going - then I could give God a clean yes. But that is not faith. That is just a very polite attempt to stay in control.

I am learning that surrender is worth it. Not because it feels comfortable in the moment - but because God has NEVER led me wrong. Every time I have trusted Him, even when it made no sense, He has been faithful.

And when surrendering feels too hard? I ask Him for the strength to do it anyway. Because I cannot obey in my own power. I need His grace to walk in BOTH sonship and servanthood.

So here is what I carry with me now.

I am a daughter of God. That is my identity. That will never change.

But I am also His servant. That is my posture. That is how I move through the world.

When He calls, I go. When He redirects, I pivot. When He says wait - I wait. Not because I have to. But because I TRUST Him.

And the beautiful thing about this kind of surrender? It is not a burden. It is freedom.

Because when you know WHOSE you are - doing His will is not duty. It is delight.

May we carry the consciousness that we are sons and daughters of God - and that we will do the bidding of our Father at the drop of a hat. Not out of fear. Not out of obligation. But out of love and trust.

Selah!

Adebimpe Omo Oba (Adebimpe: The King's Child)