Humble And Alert

... clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor 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….

- St. Peter, 1 Peter 5:5b-9a

As I close out my time in 1 Peter and continue our theme of Discipleship, the Apostle Peter reminds us of two necessary elements to being an effective disciple of Jesus Christ:

Be humble and be alert.

As Peter wrote these words, he may very well have been reflecting back to his time with Jesus. First, he would have been reminded of when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, modeling what it looks like to humble oneself and serve others. In John 13, verses 2-17, Jesus got up from dinner, took off his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist and began to wash his disciples’ feet. At first, Peter rebelled, saying, “No [Jesus], you shall never wash my feet.” But, when Jesus responded, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” Peter understood. He learned - an admirable trait we could all use in our lives – that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not about having an air of superiority; it is not about judging and condemning others, but being a disciple of Jesus Christ is actually about humbling ourselves and serving others.

This is not an easy task.

I don’t know about you, but I find it much easier to look down my nose at those who don’t get it, and think of myself as somehow better than others. Jesus basically said in verse 17,

“If you want to be blessed, humble yourself by serving others.”

- John 13:17

At this point, if Peter wasn’t humbled enough, he also reflected back to when he denied he even knew Jesus. In a moment of weakness (for which Satan took complete advantage of the opportunity), Peter became more concerned about himself than he did about his relationship with Jesus. Not once, not twice, but three times he denied that he knew Jesus. In Mark 14:66-72, we read about Peter sitting in the courtyard of where Jesus was being interrogated by the Jewish religious leaders. As he dealt with the potential loss of his leader and his friend, doubts began to creep into his mind, and Peter lost faith. After denying three times even knowing Jesus, the rooster crowed, and Peter remembered Jesus telling him that this is exactly what would happen. Peter was heartbroken and he wept.

Like Peter, when we are not alert, the enemy (Satan) uses our moments of weakness against us. We begin to doubt and even lose faith, somehow believing God has abandoned us or is not big enough to handle our problems.

Fortunately for us, Jesus is always there for us, and just as he did for Peter in John 21:15-19, if we humble ourselves, Jesus restores us to right relationship with him.

Friends, regardless of what we are up against and the trials we face, if we remain humble and alert, resisting the devil and standing firm in our faith, St. Peter proclaims to us the victory we will experience. In 1 Peter 5:10-11, Peter closes his letter with these words:

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.

- Peter 5:10-11

May we be humble and alert, true disciples of Jesus Christ, seeking ways to serve others and standing firm in our faith.

Pastor Ken

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