John 21:20-22. Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"
How easy it is to be distracted by what is or isn’t happening to others. Notice how quickly Simon Peter shifted the focus off of himself to John. How often have we listened to the word of the Lord and our mind jumped to someone else. Almost without notice we made the application to them instead of ourselves? Maybe that’s what happened to Peter. He really felt uncomfortable about the thought of the kind of death Jesus foretold and wondered if he had been singled out for such treatment. What about John?
Jesus was not put off by Peter’s redirection. He kept Peter in His bullseye. “What’s that to you? Follow me.” God has called us also to follow Him with no explanation for how He deals with others. Each of us is responsible only for our faithfulness to follow wherever He leads and do whatever He says. We can follow Him with great hope and anticipation of His help and His reward if we walk in love with Him. Let this encourage you today to follow Him with nothing withheld.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
