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Good Monday morning to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever found yourself snared in the comparison trap? Perhaps it was comparing the car you drive with that of your friends, or the brand of clothes you wear as compared to other people, or what you do for vacation? Comparison is a natural part of life, and it can be motivational or like an albatross it can weigh you down and defeat you.
Did you know Jesus dealt with this ‘comparison trap’ among His disciples more than once?
Join me for a last time on the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, early in the morning, as Jesus and 7 of His disciples are having a ‘shoreline breakfast’, about 2000 years ago. John gives us this story in John 21. Breakfast is finished and yesterday we looked at the remarkable conversation between Peter and Jesus about the authenticity and reliability of Peter’s love for Jesus. It was a big deal considering how badly Peter had failed in his triple denial of Jesus, within hours of their upper room Passover meal and their prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus next gave Peter a very troubling prediction of what his future older years would be like: “When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted, but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18) For Peter, who was a free spirit living life unrestrained by anyone or anything, this must have been very concerning. John, led by the Holy Spirit, gives us this commentary statement about what Jesus was talking about: “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.” (John 21:19)
History tells us Peter spent some time in one of the harshest Roman prisons and was shackled for a prolonged time in a dungeon and eventually was crucified upside down. But it was during this time Peter wrote his two letters of encouragement to the Christians who were suffering across the Roman empire. We have those letters in our Bible as 1 & 2 Peter.
Evidently Jesus got up from that shoreline breakfast and invited Peter to join Him for a private walk along the beach and more conversation. As they walked and talked Peter turned to see that John, the disciple and close friend of Jesus, was following them at a distance. Peter fell into the comparison trap and asked Jesus: “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21) I wonder if they paused in their walk and Jesus put His hand on Peter’s shoulder, looked him square in the eye and with a smile said these words: “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me!” (John 21:22) Oh my, can you imagine how that sent Peter’s mind and heart into a roller coaster ride? What could Jesus possibly have meant by that?
Was Jesus going to give John immortality? If Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, couldn’t Jesus stop the aging process in John and let John live for hundreds of years? Oh, how our minds can run way off track with wild imagination if we aren’t careful.
While it is true John did live to be the oldest of the disciples, not dying until he was well into his 90’s, Jesus was here asking Peter to stop comparing himself to John or others. Rather Peter should keep his focus on being the man God was refining him to be, and living to the fullest the unique life of purpose Jesus would lead him to live!
Now that’s an important lesson for all of us, isn’t it my friends? Have you spent much time looking closely at your uniqueness as a person designed by God to be different from all other people? (Psalm 139:1-18, 23,24) Do you see how God has knit together the personality He chose for you; with the mind He has given you; wrapped up in the special heart of emotions God has given you; and finally the ability God has given you to make your choices which guide your steps in life?
And rather than having your own agenda as your ultimate guide, have you discovered the great joy, fulfillment and impact your life can make when you are closely following Jesus and HE is guiding your choices, your passions and your pursuits, as you live your life for HIS glory every day? Now, pause and ponder that for a few seconds.
That’s what Jesus was inviting Peter to do, for the rest of his life, and today Jesus is inviting you and me to the very same, God honoring, life journey. There are two powerful scriptures that I believe led both Peter and John for the rest of their lives.
These verses are guard rails on my journey too and I urge you to embrace them:
Isaiah 61:3 “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.”
2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”
Do you have a life verse that has been used by God to powerfully lead you in your life? If so, I urge you to write it down in your journal today and make some comments about how it has impacted your life journey and how it is shaping your legacy!
John concludes his account of Jesus’ life with these words: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written… But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name!” (John 21:25; 20:31)
So, what about it my friends, how have the lives and writings of Peter and John helped us know Jesus?
How is your life and mine helping people in our generation know Jesus? Here’s a brand-new song to help us consider this and I’ll meet you again here tomorrow as we watch Jesus end His earthly mission.
Today’s Scripture: John 21:18-25.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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