Mindful Reach for Those Apron Strings by Paul Boeker, Editor


Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5


What apron do you wear? Everywhere we go we see tradesmen, salespersons, waiters, backyard barbeque chefs, and housewives who have tied on aprons. An apron identifies a person. It adver- tises the wearer’s skills and oſten is a subtle advertisement for the wearer’s master — I mean, employer. An apron also communicates that the wearer is ready to serve you. Peter paints a great picture when he tells us to tie on humility


like an apron (1 Peter 5:5). He uses the very rare compound Greek word egkombósasthe (used only here in the New Testament) which seems to show a slave tying on an apron before serving dinner to his master. For Peter, this probably expressed his memory of Jesus tying a towel around his waist before washing Peter’s feet (John 13). Tying on an apron is a deliberate act. It is a decision to serve. Each


of us needs to tie on the apron of humility. It needs to be a daily act — perhaps repeated throughout the day. By tying on humility, we are


Share Your Skills Volunteers are needed to serve on the FEBC Com- missions of Churches, Church Planting, Educa- tion, Global Partnerships, Outreach, Missions, and Women’s Ministries as well as on the Canadian and US Boards of Directors. If you have an interest write info@febcministries.org for more information. Vol- unteers must be nominated by their local church.


saying that we are God’s servants, that we are ready to serve others, that we understand the “servantness” of Jesus. Our own humility ad- vertises Christ’s humility. He took on human form, the form of a ser- vant and was humbly obedient to death on a cross for our salvation. Troughout this issue we find people who have put on the


apron of humility. A man takes time to listen to a discouraged and hopeless cop. A youth pastor humbly uses the skills he has to help teens trust God. Nine people tie on humility to work together as a team on a dirty wall-building project. A woman ties on humility to serve her co-workers and church. Peter tells us that the great benefit of tying on humility is that


“God gives grace to the humble.” What a deal! We can enjoy God’s favor in our lives by just tying on an apron!


Wanted: Proofreaders Volunteer proofreaders are needed to check the Fellowship Focus. Te draſt of the focus is usually ready to proof by the last week of even-numbered months (February, April, etc.). Proofreaders would note errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, web addresses, etc., using Webster’s New World Dictionary, Fourth Edition and Te Associated Press Style Book. Proofreaders will receive a PDF copy, and then note errors using the Comment feature of Acrobat®. Contact fellowshipfocus@febcministries.org.


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