Monday Reading: John 21:20-22
Key Verse: John 21:22
22 Jesus said to him, If I desire that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.
Devotion:
We do all face good and bad times throughout our lives and we try to forget the bad times by putting them behind us whilst remembering the good times – that is just us being optimistic – the truth being we all face good and bad. What we do with those instances defines the way that we are. The disciples would try to think about what Jesus had told them and act accordingly, learning as they took each step; but they still had many questions that would need to be answered before Jesus was taken from them. Well, that is probably the way that they saw it... Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and He was preparing the way.
Each time we face different situations, it may be God’s way of letting us know that we have a whole lot more to learn about before we continue on in our path. But far too many times in those instances we worry more about what is going on around us than we do on what we should be doing. Jesus was quite explicit in what He said (paraphrasing) “If I want him to live until I come back again, what is it to you? Your simply have to follow Me”. In other words Jesus was telling Peter not to worry about how much the other disciple was not doing for Him, be it back-sliding or working against God, but rather to worry about what he should be doing for God.
When we get caught up in things we tend to forget about what we should be doing and concentrate on all the things that are falling down around us. If we are able to step back and concentrate on what we should be doing for Christ, we will be working to help maintain what Christ is laying in place. If we ignore what we are doing and concentrate on what others should be doing, then we bring ourselves down because we are no longer doing what is profitable for God. If we want to make God proud of what we are doing, then we have to make sure that we concentrate on the task that He has set us to do and not to get bogged down by others mistakes or misgivings.
Points to Ponder:
Do you do what you are told?
Are you listening to God or making your own way?
