Our Rightful Place

08 Oct Our Rightful Place

Read  1 Peter 5:6-11
Thought for the Day: My rightful place is serving God.

Of all the characters in the various Star Trek series, no one is more of a servant than the great William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation. A brave leader and clever tactician, Commander Riker was more than qualified to command his own starship. But, while so many other career officers jumped at their first opportunities to be ‘the boss’ (and often made a mess of things), Riker diligently served as second-in-command year after year. Why did he do this? Commander Riker knew that on the Starship Enterprise, he had the opportunity to serve the greatest captain of all time: Jean-Luc Picard! To be Picard’s “Number One” was far greater an honor than commanding his own ship.

In the Epistle of First Peter, we are reminded that our rightful place is as God’s humble servant. While it is easy for Christians to begin acting like ‘the boss’, Scripture is quite clear: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.” Amazingly, our instructions do not end there. Rather, we are encouraged to let go of the anxieties we hold onto and instead give them to God. Because we are His second-in-command, we can remember that it is God (not us) steering the ship.

In our lives today, when we humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God”, we acknowledge that we don’t need to be in charge. When we look out at our society, we see others who reject God and live for themselves. For a time, they may appear to have great success and freedom. Fortunately, we don’t need to compare ourselves to them. Instead, we are invited to take our rightful place, mind our own business, and serve God in all parts of our lives. Once we learn that serving God is far greater than commanding our own ship, we will experience happiness!

In Christ,
Pastors Stan and David