Hello! I just finished a wonderful group study on 1 Peter by Jen Wilkin. It was a beautiful walk through humility, submission, church fellowship and enduring through suffering. If you’re looking for a bible study to do with a group (or on your own even!) then I highly recommend this one.
On our last day of this study, we looked into chapter 5. Specifically, 1 Peter 5:5.
“In the same way, you younger men be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
What we have to take note of is that “clothe yourselves with humility” is also “you tie around yourselves”. What kind of garment would be tied around us? How about a work apron? Within our study, we looked back on Peter’s previous experience with this very literal situation. We turned over to John 13:4-11. There we saw Jesus tie on a garment of humility and wash Peter’s feet. In that moment, Jesus showed Peter what it means to humble yourself for another person’s sake. This was not the time to suit up in his most magnificent robe and remind the disciples how lowly they were. No, this was Jesus stepping down into a role of servitude for the sake of his child. So when Peter instructed believers to clothe ourselves in humility, he was remembering when he witnessed firsthand that exact behavior exhibited by Christ.
The reason this weighs so heavily on my heart tonight is because I just got back from clothes shopping. More specifically, I went skirt and shirt shopping. World Race has a dress code much like any regular workplace would. Though for many women, the code seems excessive. Ankle length skirts and shorts with our swimsuits? What?! As I picked up clothes to try on, I remembered our discussion on 1 Peter 5:5. Clothing myself in humility means putting on the garment which allows me to fully submit myself to the work God has granted me. If wearing a knee length skirt with crazy leggings under it means I can play soccer with a group of children in Peru or covering myself in a sari means I can form a relationship with a lost woman in India, then I am fully prepared to clothe myself in humility. It’s very easy to thank God for blessing our lives. It is much harder to remove ourselves from these safe spaces and enter into a world that does not want us here. To put on that work apron means to place yourself in the middle of the grime, dirt, filth and then turn around and bring the light of Christ into those grimy, dirty, filthy places. To emulate that level of humility is to show the world something heavenly. When we choose to serve God and take on that new cloak of total submission to his will, we open the door to lost souls looking for a way in. When our hands are open and willing to serve those in less fortunate positions than ourselves, that is the moment we truly show the world who Christ is.
Please join me in praying that we would all be willing to take on that true clothing of humility. Pray that God provide us with strength when the world tries to shut us down. Pray that people all over the world see Christ in every believer working to serve the lost around them.
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(P.S. As of this post, we’re 45.64% fully funded!! Keep it up y’all!)
