1 Peter 5:1-4

1 Peter 5:1-4

Therefore, I, a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a sharer of the glory that is about to be revealed, exhort the elders in you all: shepherd the flock of God in you all while exercising oversight neither by obligation but rather willingly according to God, nor by shameful greed but rather eagerly, nor as while ruling over those assigned to you but rather while becoming as an example of the flock.  And after the chief shepherd is revealed you all will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter exhorts the elders among the early Christian church.  What does he say about this?  Strong Christian leaders accept the office willingly and eagerly.  They do not need to be bribed into it.  The do not need to be cajoled into it.  They do not need to be asked often about it.  Christian leaders know the need for strong leaders and they accept the office handed to them willingly.

Are you called into Christian leadership?  How willingly do you accept that mantle?

Second Thought:

Leaders also do not lord it over the people under them.  Christian leaders do not need to exercise their authority by force.  Christian leaders do not take their position of privilege for their own benefit.  Christian leaders do not become leaders for their own gain but as an example to the people around them.

Do you think of yourself as an example to the people around you?  Do you ever have a moment when you desire your leadership to lead to your own personal gain?

Third Thought:

Finally, Peter reminds us that when the chief shepherd appears we shall all receive the crown of unfading glory.  This is to make sure that we have the proper focus on Peter’s earlier words of leadership.  If we are truly worth being a Christian leader, our focus will be on God and our perspective will be on the eternal.  We won’t want to see our position of leadership as a means to personal gain because we will know that God has already promised us all that we need – especially in the eternal.

Do you believe that you do not need earthly reward because you have all the eternal reward that you need?  When is this easy to believe?  When is this hard to remember?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Peter 5:5-7