"But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus' response, "You follow Me." (John 21)
If I can respectfully paraphrase, "You don't worry about him '....You follow me.'" The context is a dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" The first time, Jesus adds, "more than these." Jesus then tells Peter of his future, and concludes with, "Follow Me." Whatever the "call," no matter mega church or country church, high profile or, "the world will little note nor long remember..," the prime directive is, "Follow Me."
Peter was thankful, I'm sure, for his relationship with Jesus. It was about to become in Jesus. He knew he was, "Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." Now how could you get any greater affirmation of your "place" in Christ Jesus than that? Yet for some reason, Peter seemed concerned that perhaps John had it just a little bit better. Verse 20 says, "Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper...." Maybe it was something like today when a person gets chosen as a deacon or elder and you don't. Having served as pastor in a number of local churches over the last 50 years, I have often wondered how people in local congregations deal with that. You know it happens, "Why him/her and not me?" Maybe there is an assumption, as there may have been in Peter, of a favoritism at play here, "who also had leaned on [Jesus'] breast at supper."
My friend, the Bible is quite clear on this, "God is no respecter of persons." The word translated, "respecter," literally means, "a respecter of a face." I submit today that it does not matter how great or how humble people may be, how talented or limited they may be, how charismatic or dull. What matters is what the hymn declares, "I am my Lord's and He is mine." The greatest "call," the greatest ministry/service one can have is, "You follow Me." No matter what the other fellow is doing, no matter what her call, no matter how acclaimed, appreciated, greatly supported, you just cannot get any higher call than, "You follow Me." I encourage you again with my sent-to-Berlin verse, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also." Glorious.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I do, and I so thank You for the invitation. Amen.
*******************
* If you want some insight into Iran's new president, go to: jhs58.blogspot.com
* Also, you can read an article just before it about the deception in the EPA, compliments of Jimmy Carter
If I can respectfully paraphrase, "You don't worry about him '....You follow me.'" The context is a dialogue between Jesus and Peter. Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" The first time, Jesus adds, "more than these." Jesus then tells Peter of his future, and concludes with, "Follow Me." Whatever the "call," no matter mega church or country church, high profile or, "the world will little note nor long remember..," the prime directive is, "Follow Me."
Peter was thankful, I'm sure, for his relationship with Jesus. It was about to become in Jesus. He knew he was, "Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." Now how could you get any greater affirmation of your "place" in Christ Jesus than that? Yet for some reason, Peter seemed concerned that perhaps John had it just a little bit better. Verse 20 says, "Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper...." Maybe it was something like today when a person gets chosen as a deacon or elder and you don't. Having served as pastor in a number of local churches over the last 50 years, I have often wondered how people in local congregations deal with that. You know it happens, "Why him/her and not me?" Maybe there is an assumption, as there may have been in Peter, of a favoritism at play here, "who also had leaned on [Jesus'] breast at supper."
My friend, the Bible is quite clear on this, "God is no respecter of persons." The word translated, "respecter," literally means, "a respecter of a face." I submit today that it does not matter how great or how humble people may be, how talented or limited they may be, how charismatic or dull. What matters is what the hymn declares, "I am my Lord's and He is mine." The greatest "call," the greatest ministry/service one can have is, "You follow Me." No matter what the other fellow is doing, no matter what her call, no matter how acclaimed, appreciated, greatly supported, you just cannot get any higher call than, "You follow Me." I encourage you again with my sent-to-Berlin verse, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also." Glorious.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I do, and I so thank You for the invitation. Amen.
*******************
* If you want some insight into Iran's new president, go to: jhs58.blogspot.com
* Also, you can read an article just before it about the deception in the EPA, compliments of Jimmy Carter
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
