2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
As Peter’s comments to the flock of God went on, he turned from directing his message from church leaders to younger men. This raised an issue of historical context that I feel should be mentioned. The Jewish religion as practiced in both ancient times and in Christ’s time was very patriarchal. That means that only males could hold positions of responsibility and that the emphasis was on males. We know that in more recent times, females have now been welcomed to the rabbinate and other positions of leadership. In the past, boys went through the coming of age rite of Bar Mitzvah. Nowadays, girls go through a corresponding ceremony called Bat Mitzvah. Peter was raised under the old regime, so his comments are directed at “younger men.” Denominational differences have always come across to me as man-made. Our Christian churches disagree from denomination to denomination on whether women should be welcomed to the pastorate and what positions of leadership (if any) they should be allowed to hold. I’m sure by now those of you who have read my writing or taken classes from me know that my attitude is the most important teaching should be “just what the Book says.” So, I will not use the forums God has made available to me to argue about denominational differences. With regard to today’s passage, I ask you to take it to the Lord as to whether it applies only to the young men of the church or whether it applies to all young people.
1 PET 5: 5-7, “In the same way you younger men must submit yourselves to the older men. And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the Scripture [PR 3: 34] says, ‘God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in His good time. Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” My experience has been that there is nothing so challenging to parents than the attitude most 15-17 year olds have about their view of the world. They believe they have all the answers. I was no exception to that at that age. It was only as the years rolled by that I realized how little I really do know. I must express the opinion that American society doesn’t value the knowledge and experience of its older people enough. (My being over 55 is not my reason for holding this view). When Peter begins with the words, “In the same way..,” he is referring to his words in yesterday’s passage to the church leaders [from 1 PET 5: 2-3], “I appeal to you to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and to take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve. Do not try to rule over those who have been put in your care, but be examples to the flock.” The obvious point here is that if the older men who have positions of responsibility act Christ-like with love, they will set an example for younger people that will provide the greatest opportunity to build faith in them.
Much is said about pride in the OT ,which people raised in Judaism accept as Scripture. God made His attitude clear about this in LV 26: 18-19 in a passage about punishment for disobedience. “If even after all of this you still do not obey Me, I will increase your punishment seven times. I will break your stubborn pride; there will be no rain, and your land will be dry and hard as iron.” PR 8: 13, “To honor the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words.” PR 11: 2, “People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest.” PR 16: 18, “Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.” These messages are not age-specific; they apply to all of us. The bottom line is that pride of this fleshly kind blocks the Holy Spirit from being able to operate, regardless of one’s age.
It is clear that Peter is telling the younger people to accept that there is no substitute for life’s experience. It should be inherent in this that when the older men are training the younger ones, individual differences need to be taken into account. Some younger people catch on faster than others. An older person training a younger one needs to be sensitive to the fact that God gives different gifts to different people. If one reads through 1 COR 12: 12-31, Paul’s writing on one body with many parts, the metaphor of a human body is used to convey the idea that every part of it is needed to make the whole work properly. So it is with each person’s God-given talent needed to unify and edify the Body of Christ (the church). When younger people humble themselves before God, they can learn a lot through faithful, obedient older people who are attempting to make it possible for the Holy Spirit to build both faith and knowledge of how to serve God in them. Because these older people are obedient, they mirror Christ in showing love, patience, compassion, and ability to convey God’s messages to the younger ones. All of us who trust and obey God, regardless of age, can revel in the message of 1 PET 5: 7, “Leave all your worries with Him, because He care for you.” Christ Himself spoke of that in MT 11: 28-30, “Come to Me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and put it on you, and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the burden is light.”
PRAYER: O Lord, the training You want young people to have is crucial to the uplifting of Your holy name and to the furthering of Your eternal congregation. You have asked us to put pride and appetites of the flesh aside, so that You can communicate and operate through the Holy Spirit. We accept Your call to study Your word and teach young people to do the same, to demonstrate trust in You by obeying You, and to set a Godly example for the young people around us. Part of that is encouraging faith in them by letting them see how blessed our lives are when we do this. Your church is to be one of acceptance, proclamation, and profession of faith. When we make young people welcome there, they will want to be trained to serve You, using the model Christ set for us. We accept this responsibility with joy, eagerness, and love. You have taught us that every member of our congregation, even those who seem the most weak, is precious to You and needed by You. We accept the responsibility to show our young people both in our homes and in our congregations how wonderful it is to have an active prayer life with You, so they can see the awesome power of prayer. It is with humility that we accept this responsibility and offer You our eternal worship, praise, thanks, trust, obedience, honor, and glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the last part of Peter’s message to the flock of God which deals with how to be equipped to deal with the devil’s attempts to interfere with God’s work and our sanctification. It is in 1 PET 5: 8-11. Never feel abandoned by the Lord, not even for one minute! His love for us is greater than I can express. Even when we are feeling overwhelmed by the problems of our lives, He is there with us. When we place our burdens on Christ’s shoulders, He grants us rest. My husband, Peter, and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn