Willing

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 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: 2 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; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 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 favor to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

 

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 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.

 

10 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. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:1-11, NIV)

 

 

REFLECTIONS:

The current theme for Companions devotionals is submission and it seems that Peter wrote 1 Peter to focus on submission. When I got assigned 1 Peter 5:1-11, I decided to read from the beginning to end 1 Peter to really get where this book is coming from. Peter makes it clear that we are to submit to God, Jesus and his message, those in power in the pagan society of the day, and wives to husbands and husbands to wives. Here in chapter 5 Peter turns his attention to the elders, leaders, of the church and wouldn’t you know it, Peter leads by his example of humility. 

 

Three things jump out at me when reading this passage. 

 

The first is Peter identifying himself as a fellow elder. Wow! Peter doesn’t elevate himself as one of the twelve disciples that walked with Jesus here on earth. He steps down from that earthly natural position to make a bond with his fellow elders. He knows his place. In terms of power and stature Peter knows the reality that there’s Jesus and then way, way, way down there’s all of us, mere children of God. But we also know that Peter is following Jesus’ example who stepped down to take on the limitations of humanity and take on our sins. And it is this humility that hits the mark in our hearts, Jesus to Peter and us and here Peter to us. We honor Jesus and Peter as our leaders not because we are made to, but because we want to. 

 

The second is the use of shepherds as the example for elders. Elders are to watch over the flock under their care. Peter was directly called to be a shepherd by Jesus. In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter three times “Do you love me?” Peter replies each time, "Yes," and then Jesus responds “Feed my lambs” and then “Take care of my sheep.” Jesus knew that if His ministry was to continue his followers were going to have to feed and care for the flock of believers. In John we see Peter called to be a shepherd and in 1 Peter 5:2 Peter is calling others to be shepherds to the flock. In both these situations, the torch is being passed from shepherd to flock. 

 

The last thing that jumps out about this passage is the use of the word willing, “not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.” Our God is good. We don’t have to follow Him, but He wants us. He loves us. And love can only express itself through free choice. 

 

Lucinda Hawkes gave each of the PRF elders the book Soul Revolution by John Burke. Early in the book John discusses willingness. He writes “How do we do life in relationship with God? It starts with a seemingly simple yet powerful virtue: willingness.” Remember the great story Hailey told one Sunday morning about being in China and feeling led to travel to another remote part of China and the difficulties that the YWAM team ran into? Hailey was willing to follow God’s call and it led to an encounter with a fellow believer who was without fellowship. God reached out for someone willing. 

 

Peter knows what Christian leadership requires: humbling yourself, caring for the flock, and willingness to do God’s will. Thank you Peter for your example and words. 

 

 

PRAYER:

Jesus, find us humble, caring for others and willing to do Your will. 

 

 

WHO AM I?

In the book Soul Revolution John Burke calls his congregation and readers to take the 60/60 challenge. For 60 days, every 60 minutes have a beep of your watch remind you to reorient yourself into a continuous conversation of willingness. Another good book on this type of “continuous conversation” is Present Perfect by Gregory Boyd. Looks like I’m 30 minutes away from my next reorientation. ~ David Norris