John 21 : 20-25
Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays you?" (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the super and said, "Lord, who is going to betrayed you?") Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."
A person who loves the Lord will naturally follow Him closely. So when Jesus told Peter to "Come and follow me," Peter responded, "But Lord, what about this man?" In other words, what Peter really meant was, "Oh Lord, if we should suffer, let all of us suffer together, not just me while others are having a good time." What happens to this man in the future? It is obvious Peter was following Him with great reluctance. Jesus' answer might have made Peter uncomfortable, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" Wow! For Peter, this was so hard to take as it seemed that Peter had to suffer while this person was able to get away with a good life!
We often fall into this situation of comparing to others and become bitter as a result. But are the days of "Old John" well off? John was jailed in the Island of Patmos in his old age and eventually died there. Perhaps John would rather be Peter as imminent death to be with the Lord forever would be preferred to prolonged suffering in this world! You see, we all like to compare, isn't it? We often feel that others are given more by the Lord and as we try to compare we are trapped in bitterness, never feel satisfied - those who are single complain about not having a mate; married couples are not satisfied that the Lord had provided them a wrong mate; the jobless complain that the Lord has not given them a job, while those with a job complain of not having a smooth career!
Brothers and sisters, what are our reasonsfor following God? Is it for a materialistic prize? Or should it be for our Lord Himself? We need to pray so that we will be attracted to God because everything else would be self-serving. Only when the Lord draws us to Him, there will be no disappointment but true satisfaction. Otherwise we will forever be making comparisons to others and trapped in our own bitterness. Do you love the Lord? Do you feel the Lord is lovable? Is our Lord precious? Only when you recognize the preciousness and the fullness in our Lord, would you be willing to give up everything to follow Him. May the Lord help us so that we may repent and love Him without distraction.
Pray with Pastor Tong
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