Reflections on 1 Peter 5
Reflections on 1 Peter 5
Peter draws his first letter to a close with specific instructions directed firstly to the elders, then to the young men and finally to all Christian believers.
To the elders he encourages them to serve as overseers of the people. This should not be done as a sense of duty, but because they are willing, which is what God wants. As is so often the case in Scripture, God sees the heart and it is important that we have the right Godly attitude motivating us.
Peter exalts them not to do this for money but because they are eager to serve. How different this approach and attitude is to what we encounter in the world. It is the same attitude that Jesus adopted, one who came to serve and not to be served.
The next group that Peter addresses are the young men. He instructs the young men to be submissive to those who are older than them. Sometimes young men think that they know everything and do not need to listen to advice. But again, as with the elders, Peter gives them instructions which are different to the way the world operates.
Closely linked with being submissive is humility which Peter moves onto next. The apostle says they should clothe themselves with humility.In fact this should be an attitude that all the believers should have for one another. And the reason he gives for this is taken from Proverbs 11 v 31:
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
All of us need God's grace in our life and therefore humility should be an attitude we desire for ourselves. I wonder how many church splits could have been avoided if we had more of this quality in our churches?
Peter reminds his readers that if they are prepared to humble themselves, then in God's timing they will experience the blessing of being lifted up. If we sow humility we will reap the benefits.
One of the benefits is that we can cast all our anxieties, worries and cares on God because we can be assured that he loves us. And once we have done that the weight of them shifts from us to God. What a tremendous promise! Sadly it is so easy to give them over to God and take them all back the next day! I expect that we have all done this on many occasions. We need to learn the liberating joy of leaving them with God once and for all, and then moving on.
As Peter closes this letter he reminds his readers of the spiritual attack that they can expect to receive from the devil. They are encouraged to be ready and alert and to also be self controlled. Although we cannot avoid the risk of attack from the devil, Peter encourages us to resist him and to stand firm in our faith. He reminds the readers that throughout the world all their fellow brothers and sisters are undergoing this battle. For many of them this would have meant imprisonment and death. Most of us will probably not have to face this, but many of the early church did. In fact in some countries today believers are going through this and we need and should support them in prayer.
Peter then reminds his readers that God will give them the grace to be strong. We may stumble, slip or fall over but God's grace will see us through to the end.
Peter draws his first letter to a close with specific instructions directed firstly to the elders, then to the young men and finally to all Christian believers.
To the elders he encourages them to serve as overseers of the people. This should not be done as a sense of duty, but because they are willing, which is what God wants. As is so often the case in Scripture, God sees the heart and it is important that we have the right Godly attitude motivating us.
Peter exalts them not to do this for money but because they are eager to serve. How different this approach and attitude is to what we encounter in the world. It is the same attitude that Jesus adopted, one who came to serve and not to be served.
The next group that Peter addresses are the young men. He instructs the young men to be submissive to those who are older than them. Sometimes young men think that they know everything and do not need to listen to advice. But again, as with the elders, Peter gives them instructions which are different to the way the world operates.
Closely linked with being submissive is humility which Peter moves onto next. The apostle says they should clothe themselves with humility.In fact this should be an attitude that all the believers should have for one another. And the reason he gives for this is taken from Proverbs 11 v 31:
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
All of us need God's grace in our life and therefore humility should be an attitude we desire for ourselves. I wonder how many church splits could have been avoided if we had more of this quality in our churches?
Peter reminds his readers that if they are prepared to humble themselves, then in God's timing they will experience the blessing of being lifted up. If we sow humility we will reap the benefits.
One of the benefits is that we can cast all our anxieties, worries and cares on God because we can be assured that he loves us. And once we have done that the weight of them shifts from us to God. What a tremendous promise! Sadly it is so easy to give them over to God and take them all back the next day! I expect that we have all done this on many occasions. We need to learn the liberating joy of leaving them with God once and for all, and then moving on.
As Peter closes this letter he reminds his readers of the spiritual attack that they can expect to receive from the devil. They are encouraged to be ready and alert and to also be self controlled. Although we cannot avoid the risk of attack from the devil, Peter encourages us to resist him and to stand firm in our faith. He reminds the readers that throughout the world all their fellow brothers and sisters are undergoing this battle. For many of them this would have meant imprisonment and death. Most of us will probably not have to face this, but many of the early church did. In fact in some countries today believers are going through this and we need and should support them in prayer.
Peter then reminds his readers that God will give them the grace to be strong. We may stumble, slip or fall over but God's grace will see us through to the end.
posted by navin at 11:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home