2 Peter 1-Servant and Apostle

2 Peter 1 -Servant and Apostle.

**Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ…**

Peter characterizes himself in 2 Peter 1 with two important adjectives. They are as significant as his two names Simon and Peter that we talked about in our last post. Because knowing what we are is equally important as knowing who we are. In fact, it may be that knowing what we are will help us to choose to decide who we are as well.

Let’s look first at Peter’s first identifying word: Servant.

A servant is a person, male or female, that attends to another for the purpose of performing menial offices for him, or who is employed by another for such offices or for other labor, and is subject to his command-this is according to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary. So, a servant of Christ is one who takes care of the human tasks that’s the Lord assigns to him/her. Some of these tasks are mentioned below.

Throughout the Bible we can find many ways that people served the Lord.

In the Old Testament, Moses served Him as a leader of the nation of Israel. David served him as a songwriter and as a king. Ezra and Nehemiah served the Lord by rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and giving God’s people hope.

In the New Testament, Peter served the Lord as a leader and elder of the church. Stephen served the Lord as a deacon in charge of caring for the needs of the widows and orphans. He also served the Lord with his boldness and unmovable faith, even when it cost him his own life.

Martha served the Lord by cooking and caring for the basic needs of others. Her sister, Mary, served at Jesus’ feet, learning all she could from Him. Dorcas served Him by sewing for widows so they could keep warm in the winter. Timothy served alongside Paul in the gospel work.

In Revelation, we see that those who have been or will be martyred, or that greatly suffered because of the gospel, serve and praise the Lord day and night in Heaven. Paul tells the Galatians by love to serve one another.

So, serving can be done in many ways. For each of these Bible characters, they served the Lord with what they already had available to serve with. Just like God told Moses to serve Him before Pharaoh with what was in his hand, a rod of wood, and Dorcas served with her sewing talents. Each one did what the Lord had already given them or what He led them to do in their hearts. He used their talents or their experiences as a starting point for their service to and for Him.

Peter understood after his initial failed attempts that serving Christ was his duty. But how did he serve Him? Peter started out as a bold and pubic witness of the person and message of Christ. Which plunged him into a career as a preacher. But as more came to Christ, he also had to learn how to pastor, advise and encourage others in the faith. Peter learned to listen to the Lord’s leading and then to walk forward in whatever the task was even if it took him some time to understand it or ‘do’ it the right way. He allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him even if his understanding was limited. His heart and his ears were open to God’s leading.

So it is with you and I. We can start with what we already know, what we can already do and allow the Lord to grow us into more from there.

Maybe we can play the piano. We can start looking for ways to use our piano skill to help others: in nursing homes, Sunday Schools, entertaining and ministering to our children or grandchildren….there are plenty of ways that we can use this one talent to serve the Lord and then allow Him to grow it into something more.

Over the years, I have met people who serve the Lord by helping the needy with their legal matters for no fee. Another woman cares for the needs of the sick or elderly. All parents serve the Lord as they serve their family. Others reach out to the discouraged and help them to stay on their feet for one more day. Then there are those who impart wisdom and advice to those who need it. Some fix cars or repair homes for little or no charge. Each of us can find ways to serve the Lord by serving with what we already know and to those right in front of us and being sensitive to look for opportunities and the Lord’s leading.

In our last post, we talked about the name Peter meaning ‘small pebble’. The Lord can use us, just like He used Peter, as more small pebbles. The Lord used Peter to build the first church.

He can do the same with us by building ‘our church’ that is composed of our family, our co-workers, our friends, or ministering to children, or widows, or the sick or the elderly. Because a church is not characterized by a building, but by a group of people that are working together to learn about God. Some are the teachers, and some are the students. Some bake the cookies, and some set up the tables. Every form of service counts with God. Being a servant in any form to any of these groups of people puts us in the same group as Peter: a servant of Jesus Christ. And all of us working together builds a ‘church’ of like-minded people.

Serving anyone in any way is a good thing, a right thing, a Christ thing. We are serving in His stead. We are servants of the Most High God, just like Peter and so many others that have gone before us.

An apostle of Jesus Christ fits right in with the word servant. An apostle is someone who is sent. Sent to represent the One he serves. You and I are also sent. We are sent to the same groups of people that we have already talked about: Family, co-workers, friends, children, neighbors, widows, the sick and the elderly. Peter was sent to the nation of Israel. We may be sent to a nation also or we are more likely to be sent to the people right in front of us.

We can take comfort in knowing that the ‘giants’ of the faith, like Peter and others, are people just like you and me. They are people who make mistakes, who let their faith slip from time to time, even when they earnestly desire to do and to give their best to God. As we get further into this chapter, Peter will teach us more about how to stay on track more often and how to represent the One who sends us. I hope you will join me in this series on 2 Peter 1 and share with us your thoughts.

How are you serving the Lord today? What talents or tools do you have that He could use for His glory?