Daily Bread 2010 - 1 Peter 5
1 Peter 5
To the Elders and the Flock
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.”
As the writer of 1 Peter closes out this letter to the early Christians exiled throughout Europe and Asia (Asia Minor), he urges the leaders of the church, called “elders”, to exercise their spiritual leadership diligently. The term “elder” means presbyter or spiritual overseer. He also uses the term “shepherd”, a metaphor closely used often by Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.
Notice the key qualities or characteristics of a good shepherd. First of all they “watch over the flock”. Obviously you can be a good shepherd if you don’t know or care about your flock. In today’s busy culture sometimes it is easy for pastors, or other spiritual leaders to forget about this aspect. But unless you know the flock, you can’t care for them, or else you wouldn’t know how to care for them.
Second, this service is not done under duty or obligation, but because the good shepherd wants to be there and provide spiritual direction and care for the members of the Church. People can tell pretty quickly if you like being with them, and good shepherds give a sense of sincerity and transparency to those they care for and that they want to be with them.
Finally, and probably most importantly, good shepherds need to be examples to those they lead. Discipleship is often more “caught than taught”. Leaders need to be “walking the walk”, and not just “talking the talk”. If there is a lack of authenticity in a shepherd’s own relationship and life with Christ, it will be very hard to compel others to follow them. After all you, can’t transmit what you don’t have. Although none of us are perfect and God is still perfecting all of our rough edges, spiritual leaders need to be engaged in the process of their own transformation, relying on God’s grace for each stage of the journey.
If you are shepherding someone else, who are you being shepherded by? Peter gives the model of the elders’ discipling or shepherding the younger believers. This is a great model for the church. As we submit to someone else’s spiritual leadership in our own lives we can grow up in our faith. Although Jesus is the true Good Shepherd, we each need someone in our lives to lead, guide and nurture us as we seek to become like Him.
Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd. As we follow you and obey your leading, we know you will lead us to green pastures and still waters. Guide the shepherds in Your Church to feed the flock, and be an example to them as they rely on You to guide them. In Your name, Amen.
To the Elders and the Flock
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.”
As the writer of 1 Peter closes out this letter to the early Christians exiled throughout Europe and Asia (Asia Minor), he urges the leaders of the church, called “elders”, to exercise their spiritual leadership diligently. The term “elder” means presbyter or spiritual overseer. He also uses the term “shepherd”, a metaphor closely used often by Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.
Notice the key qualities or characteristics of a good shepherd. First of all they “watch over the flock”. Obviously you can be a good shepherd if you don’t know or care about your flock. In today’s busy culture sometimes it is easy for pastors, or other spiritual leaders to forget about this aspect. But unless you know the flock, you can’t care for them, or else you wouldn’t know how to care for them.
Second, this service is not done under duty or obligation, but because the good shepherd wants to be there and provide spiritual direction and care for the members of the Church. People can tell pretty quickly if you like being with them, and good shepherds give a sense of sincerity and transparency to those they care for and that they want to be with them.
Finally, and probably most importantly, good shepherds need to be examples to those they lead. Discipleship is often more “caught than taught”. Leaders need to be “walking the walk”, and not just “talking the talk”. If there is a lack of authenticity in a shepherd’s own relationship and life with Christ, it will be very hard to compel others to follow them. After all you, can’t transmit what you don’t have. Although none of us are perfect and God is still perfecting all of our rough edges, spiritual leaders need to be engaged in the process of their own transformation, relying on God’s grace for each stage of the journey.
If you are shepherding someone else, who are you being shepherded by? Peter gives the model of the elders’ discipling or shepherding the younger believers. This is a great model for the church. As we submit to someone else’s spiritual leadership in our own lives we can grow up in our faith. Although Jesus is the true Good Shepherd, we each need someone in our lives to lead, guide and nurture us as we seek to become like Him.
Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd. As we follow you and obey your leading, we know you will lead us to green pastures and still waters. Guide the shepherds in Your Church to feed the flock, and be an example to them as they rely on You to guide them. In Your name, Amen.
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