1 Peter: Best Wishes
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favour to the humble.”Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ. 1 Peter 5:1-14
The lazy part of me feels that this final chapter of Peter’s first letter can be summed up in two words: Best Wishes.
It’s the signing off of the letter, the final thoughts before the letter is sent. Peter wants to make sure everything is in order and that he’s conveyed everything he needs to convey. It’s typical of any letter I’ve ever written in that way!
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
He starts by addressing the elders, the spiritual leaders in this community of believers. Lead well – that’s the message here. Don’t take advantage of your position. Don’t lead grudgingly. See it as a privilege to be a representative of Jesus himself in the way you lead. To lead is not about glory for you, everyone looking up to you; it’s about serving your community.
Stay humble.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
And then there’s the way we act towards our spiritual leaders and those with authority. It’s all about respect. They need to know that they don’t know it all but we need to know that we don’t know it all either! We’re not here to make the lives of our leaders harder – or easier – but to be fair. We should never take our leaders for granted or put them on a pedestal either – simply treat them with respect and consideration.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
Humility matters. It’s what God desires above all our words and ‘right’ teaching and dogma. It’s what He’s looking for in our hearts and relationships – in every encounter every day.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
When we explore humility, we will come to a place of realisation that we do not have all the answers and that can be a pretty scary place to end up. Maybe that’s why Peter moves on quickly to say ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’
We can kid ourselves that we have everything under control, but this is rarely the case. Feeling that life is out of control can be overwhelming and lead to anxiety. Letting go of that anxiety does require the humility to accept that God knows best and that we can surrender all that is concerning us to Him. It’s easier said than done, of course, in my experience. It’s the outworking of trust. If we trust that God is God, then we can relax in the knowledge that we have everything we need in Him.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
You’re not unusual or special in whatever you are going through. Believers throughout the ages and all over the world have experienced much the same stuff that you’re going through. We all have our difficulties and struggles and temptations. We’re called to live life with our eyes wide open, aware that every decision we make has implications on a spiritual level.
Maybe the humility here comes from ditching the comparisons. It’s not a competition to see who has it worse. It’s not about feeling jealous of those whose lives seems better than ours right now. We are all in this together. We will all face highs and lows. Compassion is a much better practice than comparison.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
The God of all grace is on our side. It will not always be this way. That’s the promise we are called to live in the reality of. It is through our sufferings that we become strong, firm and steadfast. Not in the ways we expect, I suspect. We discover the strength that humility can bring.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
And finally, how we greet one another is important. We acknowledge the arrival into the space of the other person. We approach them with peace and love and respect. We should never be too busy to show respect. I love the Indian greeting ‘Namaste’ – the divine in me bows to the divine in you. There’s an inherent humility there that puts us on the right footing with each person we encounter. If we use that greeting, we can never rush by.
