Day 11 - Issue 37
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READ: John 21.20-22 NLT
Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”
Having received his commission from Jesus to care for his sheep and been given an insight into his future, Peter then becomes curious about others. He asks about how it is going to be for the disciple whom Jesus loved, who we assume to be John. Jesus’ response was sharp and definite. Effectively Jesus said, “Mind your own business”. It was nothing to do with Peter. All he needed to know was that he was called to follow Jesus.
Let’s face it, we are all curious about the people around us. We would be fascinated to know what their future will be. But Jesus’ words remind us all that our responsibility is for ourselves and we don’t need to know what will happen to other people. That is in God’s hands. As John drew his gospel to a close, he wanted his readers to know that their greatest need was for each one of them to keep their eyes fixed on following Jesus.
In our busy, noisy world we face endless demands on our time and attention, and it is very easy for us to lose our focus on following Jesus. We can so easily get distracted by things that are not, in themselves, bad which lure us away from giving first place to Jesus. We need to work hard to ensure that we are tuned in to his voice. When I lived in India a key moment in my day was when I listened to the news on BBC World Service. The task of tuning in our old radio sounds simple enough but it never was! I often had to work for some minutes to get a proper signal. We need that kind of determination to keep our focus on listening to Jesus and following in his ways.
QUESTIONS: What do you need to do to guard against becoming distracted from following Jesus?
PRAYER: Lord help me always to make following you the priority of my life. Amen
Released on 11 Apr 2021
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