Master & Apprentice

I talk a lot about "my master" in this blog. There is a series of books called Earthsea, written by Ursela LeGuin. It is about a boy who grows up under the care of a master wizard, as he becomes a young man, and then an adult with his own reputation as a powerful wizard. I know there are many Christians who are wary of Harry Potter and other books and movies that involve magic and wizardry, but I love this series, written by an athiest who has an interest in religion. It was great to read as a kid, and even better as an adult. As I read it, I see a fight against the forces of evil (including a "shadow" with no form, and a dragon), and obedience to a master who has his best interests in sight. I see a young man who knows that despite his talents, he must always acknowledge something higher than himself, and trust in it.

The boy could have been like the majority of people in his world, who aim for independence as they do in our own world, but he would have turned out just like most of the other people; He would have had a few small powers, but nothing to be excited about. Once he started learning, he could have given up because each lesson seemed so long, nothing exciting seemed to be happening, and so many other possibilities seemed more inviting, but for the most part, he stuck with his master, and when he made the wrong decisions, his master showed mercy.

The greek word for master is "kyrios." In the Bible, this is translated to "Lord." Many people refer to God as "Lord," but to refer to him as "master" may be harder. From my perspective, "Lord" is seen as defining who God is, but "master" focuses on both our roles. If he is master, then I must obey. He has that authority over me. I am like a servant- although... Jesus said, "I no-longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends. For everything I have learned from my father, I have made known to you." So Jesus is more like the master in this book, than like the master that we see as handing out orders and placing demands for his own interests.

That kind-of goes with my idea of myself as the apprentice. The apprentice serves the master, but receives teaching in exchange, so that he/she is ultimately stronger and more skilled for it. The master imparts his knowledge to the apprentice.

A good master can invoke strong loyalty from an apprentice. A good apprentice does not gain the skills, leave, and forget the master, but always sees the master as the one to go to for advice and for help. The apprentice holds high honor for the master, and the master, seeing the loyalty of the apprentice, entrusts him/her with valuable tools, teaches powerful skills, and assigns adventurous and potentially dangerous missions- because he trusts the apprentice to be able to do it wisely and successfully.