7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 11 If you speak, you should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If you serve, you should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Dig Deeper
When Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate to have his fate decided upon, Pilate did something that is really quite common in the world in which we live. He called for a basin. How is that a common act you might wonder? It's not common in that he called for a basin, but what is common is why he called for the basin. He wanted to wash his hands. Far more important than the literal act of washing his hands, though, was the fact that he was symbolically cleansing himself, absolving himself from a difficult situation. He wasn't really concerned with the impact on others or the outcome, he only cared what it meant for him. He was looking out for himself and the easiest thing to do, then, was to entirely remove himself from the tumult and not get involved. He would serve only his own interests, refusing to put himself on the line, refusing to lay his life down in any way; he would, in short, do what most of us do if left to our own devices.
In contrast, however, just the night before that scene, Jesus was also confronted by a basin. Rather than shrinking back from the situation at hand and saving himself from the trouble ahead, Jesus took the opportunity to grab the basin and wash the feet of the disciples. He was not only serving them but was also teaching them about the importance of what He was about to do for them at the Cross. Jesus realized that every opportunity in life is an opportunity to serve God's will by putting the needs of others ahead of our own. He embraced that philosophy all the way to the cross. Look at the difference in impact between Pilate's and Jesus' choice though. Pilate had power that he could have used to serve others but instead served his own interest and had the only innocent man in the history of the world put to death. Jesus served the interests of others and made the way of salvation for the entire world. This is precisely the underlying attitude that Peter wants for the Christian community that he is writing. As they come to learn what it truly means to be part of the new family of the people of God they must learn that everything they have and every gift they have been given by God is an opportunity to serve others, not something to selfishly keep for themselves.
There is some debate as to just what Peter meant when he wrote that the end of all things is near. Did he he expect that Christ would be returning soon and so the Christian communities should order themselves with this imminent coming in mind or was he referring to the destruction of the Temple and the clear sign from God that Christ had been vindicated and the Old Covenant had been completely surpassed by the new phase of the New Covenant? The fact is that he likely had both things in mind as they were closely related in early Christian thought. The destruction of the Temple served as a clear sign of the judgment of God on Israel and vindication of Christ, serving as a guarantee of His Second Coming. Whether Peter expected the Second Coming to come very soon or understood that it would be some time is of little importance and does not change the meaning of his point which is for his readers to live in the context of the New Covenant community and the reality of the imminence of the Second Coming of Christ.
In light of God's reality they should be alert and of sober mind so that they might pray. They should not hold tightly to earthly commitments and concerns but be prepared to see God's reality in everything. People who have their mind cluttered with false priorities and deceptive living will, no doubt, have the clear lines of communication with God cluttered as well. Prayer is one of the primary ways, combined with the word of God, that God's people can keep in touch with His will. Focusing on the priorities and affairs of the world can take one's eye off of the importance of prayer which will eventually sweep away the relationship that one has with God and His people.
As far as Peter was concerned, the most important characteristic of the people of the Messiah was to love each other deeply, for Christ had declared that it would be the distinguishing marker of His people (John 13:34-35). This would be an especially difficult task for a community that was outcast and persecuted, but would be all the more vital under difficult circumstances. They should embrace this ethic of love because love covers over a multitude of sins, says Peter, quoting from Proverbs 10:12 His point is that being a community of love is a sure sign that they have put away other sinful behaviors that characterize the human will. It is also true that the community of love will be able to forgive one another quickly and move on to spiritual maturity through situations that might paralyze a people that have yet to embrace the true agape love of God as the standard of their community.
As a practical expression of that love, Peter urges them to offer hospitality to one another. Peter is always the realist and knows that this can be done begrudgingly without truly conforming their hearts and minds so he exhorts them to do it without grumbling. The type of hospitality that Peter refers to here goes far beyond throwing a nice mixer for your Christian friends or putting on a great dinner party for your small group leader and his wife, although it certainly includes that. He is urging them to adopt of lifestyle of open hospitality where their homes and resources are offered up to fellow Christians as a necessary service. Rather than keeping what little they might have for themselves, Christians are to follow the example of Christ in practical ways and be willing to serve their fellow believers in whatever they have. Sharing in tight circumstances, however, can cause irritations, so Peter reminds them that the way of Christ is to serve fellow believers in joy. True hospitality, after all, comes in generously opening your home when you wish your guest were at theirs.
Another expression of the love and self-giving ethos of the Christian family is to realize that each person should exercise the gifts that God has given to serve others. Gifts are not to serve one's self or to seek advancement or self-satisfaction but to edify and encourage the body of Christ. Using your gifts to serve the body as faithful stewards means both being willing to use whatever gifts one might have but also seeking humbly to use them rather than just sitting back and waiting to be asked. Being a faithful steward means being aware that God's grace is poured out to the body of Christ through the gifts that he has given us. If we fail to use those gifts, we deny the body the grace that God has apportioned to us to pour out on the believers.
Some have gifts of serving or encouragement, and some have gifts of speaking. Those who do should not be exalted above others or think of themselves as more important but should realize that they have a tremendous responsibility as one who speaks the very words of God. Whatever gift one has they should be exercised in such a way as to reflect the divine glory of God from which they came, for gifts come through the strength that God provides. This means also that God will use us, but we must always remember that it will often not be in the way that we might have chosen. God gives gifts and calls us to service whether we like it or not, or see it as a strength of ours or not. No one serves as a better example of that than the apostle Paul who called himself the "Hebrew of Hebrews" and was quite comfortable listing of the accomplishments that he could claim as an ethnic Jew (Phil. 3:4-6; 2 Cor. 11:22). He studied under Gamaliel, one of the pre-eminent Jewish teachers of his day (Acts 22:3). Yet, Paul was not called by God to preach to and serve Jews, in fact when he did shortly after his conversion, he was nearly killed (Acts 9:23). Instead, Paul was called by God to be His chosen instrument to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15); he would be the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:7). This should serve as a challenging reminder that God will use us and the gifts He has given, but it may often not be in the way that we would expect or naturally want. We must remember that the gifts are God and He has called us to use them for the benefit of others not for our own satisfaction.
Devotional Thought
Do you truly use the gifts that God has given you for the benefit of other believers? Are you active in finding ways to serve and be used even if it's not something you would have first thought of or is not something you immediately enjoy, or do you tend to sit back and wait to be asked to serve? What portion of God's grace has He given to you that you have yet to unleash?
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