When He Appears

1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being Lords 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 does not fade away.

There is a real danger of forgetting Who it is that we serve when difficult times arise. It is during times of persecution and suffering that we must be mindful of the fact that we serve the Lord; and that a big part of this service is serving others. We can become caught up, very easily, in focusing on self and how hard times are affecting us personally. Peter begins by reminding those whom God called to be leaders to remember that when they serve they are to do it with the right perspective and motivation. Peter himself suffered for the cause of Christ and was an eyewitness to Jesus' suffering. He counted it an honor to suffer for the Lord because He had hope in the glory of what Jesus promised was to come. We have this same hope. We too are eyewitnesses of Jesus' suffering, by faith, through the Scriptures, and we should count it an honor to suffer for the cause of Christ. With this as a foundation, we who serve are to do it for the glory of God. That means that we lead by example. It means that we lead as Jesus leads us, following His example, and obeying His Word. It means that we take extra care to properly study God's Word, so we teach it correctly, by the leading of the Spirit, for the glory of Jesus and not our own. We are to do all of this willingly, as one who is called by God, and not as one who does it as if it were a burden we are being forced to carry. To those of us who serve as lay-people, we have the same responsibility to serve for the glory of God, and not our own. Whatever area God chooses for us to serve, we need to do it as an example to others, and with the joy of knowing that we have an opportunity to glorify Jesus, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Ultimately, we do it, not for what we can gain in this world, at this time, but for the eternal rewards that the Lord has reserved for us when He appears.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).