What About Him?

Receiving the Joy of Things Not Being Any of Your Business
John 21:20-21 – Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

After all of this, Peter, surely wondering what is going on, loses his battle with his ego one more time. He turns and sees the beloved disciple following along behind them. He asks Jesus what is to become of him. Behind that question is the age old desire to be number one. This is so natural in the world of philios. We want to be the most loved, special, and unique. That kind of competition is absent from agape. In this case, apparently, Peter wants to know if he will outlive the beloved disciple. Jesus appears to lose a bit of patience here. (You can always tell that in scripture when something Jesus says is punctuated with an exclamation mark.) Jesus shuts Peter down quickly, telling him that how Jesus relates to others is none of Peter’s business. Sometimes I think we have forgotten this lesson. We sometimes question how Jesus will relate to others who are not like us, don’t think like us, or with whom we feel a competitive spirit. We wonder what Jesus will do with them. What about them, Lord, we ask of those who claim the faith but do not seem, to us, to be claimed by it. What about them, Lord, we ask of those who call God by another name and read a different sacred book. Sometimes we need to be proven right so badly that we don’t care what God does with the ones we have decided are not right.

Jesus has little patience with this. I would submit that he answers those questions of ours with an exclamation point too. Today, breathe deeply and relax your shoulders. Remember that it is your job to love and proclaim Christ. It is not your job to decide who is in and who is out. That resides in the unfathomable grace of God. Jesus, agape in skin, can be trusted to sort it all out.

Prayer: God of Joy: We thank you that some things are just none of our business! Help us today to relax and trust you to rule your world and love your children in exactly the right ways. Alleluia! Amen.
#devotional #dailydevotional