I don’t know what my emotions really are these days. I hear conflicting reports from people. I see a group of people I thought I identified with clearly now on a side of things I don’t agree with. I see myself agreeing with people I generally don’t agree with. I think that I see things clearly while I perceive others as thinking I am overreacting. I just don’t know what my own emotions are right now. So, today, as I felt the urge to write something I asked the Lord once again to show me something to write about. I then opened my Bible, headed towards the back, thinking, maybe there is something in Revelation for us today. I fell a little short of Revelation, landing in I Peter 5:14, “Greet one another with the kiss of love.” NIV. Very funny Lord, right now, really? With social distancing? My eyes then went to the preceding verses, which eventually took me back to the beginning of chapter 5.
The first part of the chapter speaks to the Elders and how they should shepherd their flock but beginning with verse 5 I found where I needed to start reading and I found the source for this blog.
1 Peter 5:5-11
New International Version
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,
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 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. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
The Kiss of Humility
These verses packed a punch to me. They were the words I needed to hear in a time of such uncertainty and many questions. These are words we all need to take into consideration before our mouths open and our opinions are made known. I have bolded the words that hit me the hardest. Words that I need to remember as I live this life.
The first word that struck me, was “humble”. As I looked the word up in the dictionary I found some synonyms for the word humble: unpretentious, meek, submissive, polite, unassuming are a few. Then there were the antonyms, just the opposite of the word humble: proud, noble, exalted, rude, insolent to name a few. Do any of those describe me and my actions as of late? I can identify with some on both sides. I may not intend to be rude, but at times, when I speak my mind, it may come off as rude and inconsiderate of someone else’s feelings. Which is definitely not being humble. If I think that I am in the only one that matters, I am not being humble but if I take other people into consideration despite my own inconvenience, that would humble! When I think it is my way or the highway, whether I am a leader or a participant, I am not being humble. Peter encourages us to be humble towards one another, speaking to those who are Christ followers. You would think that should be easy for believers but when this was written and still today, there are different opinions even amongst believers. The next thing that caught my eye was, “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion”, yes, that’s correct, the enemy is not those of differing opinions, I have differing opinions with some of my friends but we still love each other, we still value our friendship but if the enemy gets a hold of either of us, things could change rapidly. As a child, we had an evangelist come to our church during the time that Flip Wilson coined the popular phrase, “The devil made me do it!” That evangelist made it very clear to me that the devil doesn’t make us do anything. He may prowl around, stir us up a bit but it is our sin nature and our choices that make us do it. Do you think if we were humbler towards one another, we might actually begin listening to one another? Are we too proud to admit that we might be wrong or that at the very least, someone might be right? The enemy is not each other, the enemy is satan who wants to divide and conquer. Are we going to let him by the choices we make or are we going to stand firm in our faith and humble ourselves to the Lord and to each other?
What a wonderful God we have! Even when we mess up, say stupid things, act crazy ways, become the antonym rather than the synonym of humble, we have “the God of all grace” loving us and forgiving us. Isn’t that amazing grace? Like the old hymn says, “Grace that is greater than all my sin”. When schools were closed and we as teachers had to start teaching online and depending on parents to make sure their children were online with us, a word that was thrown out to us was “grace”. We would hear this over and over again. Give the families and their children grace for this is a difficult time for all of us. We, in turn, hoped that they would give us as educators grace as well. The definition of grace, according to dictionary.com, 1. favor or goodwill. 2. a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior: Sometimes we go through things that are just plain hard, we need to remember that whether it is extending grace or receiving grace, that grace comes from the Lord. Harsh, mean, angry words are not grace but loving, kind, forgiving words are grace that our Lord bestows upon us when we humble ourselves to Him and think of others more highly than ourselves.
Lastly, we are suffering like no other times in our lives. This pandemic is not partial to any part of the world, we all own it, we all suffer through it. As Christians if we do not learn to suffer together through a pandemic, how will we ever learn to suffer through persecution of our faith in Christ. The word clearly states that we will suffer, even as Christians, we are not immune from the sinful world we exist in, at least not yet! If we are living and breathing, suffering will happen. We have a promise though, it will happen for a little while and then we will be restored and be made strong.
In these days of uncertainty and sometimes gloom, we need to remember that very first verse that stood out at me, “greet one another with a kiss of love”, right now, that is a kiss of humility, grace, and understanding. By seeking Him we know Him, by finding Him, we share His grace and forgiveness to one another with humble hearts and a steadfast love.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
So very true, thanks for loving me, friend!
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