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All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. 1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)
In the same way as you choose your clothes in the morning, we all need to choose the attitude of mind and heart that we are going to wear in the world. Peter gives us two things to consider that will help us choose wisely.
First, remember where you have been
I appeal… [to you] as a witness of Christ’s sufferings (5:1). When Peter wrote about witnessing Jesus’ sufferings, he was pointing to his greatest failure. When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Him three times. So, what Peter is saying here is “I know my own failures.”
God called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (2:9). You were ignorant of God’s truth. You did not know it, and you could not understand it. You were guilty of sin, and there was nothing that you could do about it. But now you have been forgiven.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God (2:10). You were an outsider to the community of God’s people, but now you have found a way in through the grace and the mercy of God. The only difference between you and other people is the grace and the mercy of God. And that is enough to humble anyone.
Second, look where you are going
Peter describes himself as a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed (5:1). You can cultivate humility by admiring something greater than yourself. In God’s incredible mercy, He’s going to take ordinary people like us, and when we see Him, we will be like Him.
Thank God for every evidence of His grace in your life now. But remember that everything God has done in you is only a small sample of what will be when Jesus Christ is revealed. You will share in His glory.
Set aside some time to look back and to look ahead.
