If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? John 21:22

After Peter received a prophecy from Christ about where his path of following Christ would take him. Jesus plainly told Peter martyrdom awaited him. Out of curiosity, Peter asked about his buddy, John. What's gonna happen to him? Jesus answers the question with a question- what is that to you? Then Jesus says, "You follow me."

It's easy to look around at other believers and measure our life, our effectiveness against what we see. However, that's the wrong scale. Our call is individual and our purpose is ordained by God and uniquely suited to us. No matter what's going on around us, we need to stick to our mission.

So when others have great ministry success, receive recognition, have tremendous fruit to show for their efforts… Don't give in to discouragement. Keep focused on Jesus.

When others fail spectacularly, and bring reproach on the name of Christ… Don't be distracted. Keep focused on Jesus.

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Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? John 21:15

This question, repeated 3 times, marks a critical moment in Peter's relationship with Jesus. Ashamed at his denial, tentative about taking on the ministry Jesus had for him, afraid of failing again, the last thing Peter wanted to do was answer this question in front of the other guys.

There are volumes of commentary on this exchange. Most agree that Peter's 3 denials warranted 3 public affirmations. There are several good insights as to what the "these" are that Christ refers to each time. However, without hearing the inflection in His voice or seeing His body language, we can't know for certain.

Context gives us a couple of possibilities, though.

Do you love Me more than the comfort of your routine?
Simon Peter had just spent the night fishing. Jesus instructed the disciples to go ahead to Galilee and He'd meet them there. With no sign of Jesus and not sure what to do next, Peter and the others fell back to what was safe and familiar.
Do I love Jesus enough to follow Him into situations that are stressful, or nerve-wracking? Am I willing to walk away from my perceived comfort zone?

Do You love Me more than these guys?
Peter had said, in no uncertain terms, that even if everyone else abandoned Jesus, he never would. Well, he did. Jesus allowed Peter to humiliate himself in front of his most intimate friends.
Do I love Jesus enough to respond in humility when He puts me through a fire or two? Even if my close friends see me fall?

Do you love Me?
Jesus always had a job for Peter, a ministry, a calling, a purpose. Peter's failure never forfeited that. In this moment, in this simple question, Jesus assured Peter, "I still want you. I still have a place for you. But I won't lie. It will be hard. It will stretch you beyond what you think you are capable of. Are you in?"

Lord, You know I love You.

Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said? John 16:19

Mere hours before Jesus' arrest, He gave the disciples one last round of heavy teaching, but not all of it registered. Rather than ask Him, they tried to figure it out for themselves. After all, they didn't want to look stupid…

Don't we do the same thing? Don't we ask for advice from everybody around before we ask God and search out His answer? Aren't we positive we can figure things out if we just have a little more time?

Two simple truths stand out in this short exchange:

1.  Jesus knows our questions. 

In John 16:19, Jesus quotes the very question the disciples were asking among themselves. He knows the deep issues on our hearts, and He knows the foolish lengths we go to in order to hide our confusion. And He knows why we do that- pride, doubt, unbelief…

2.  Jesus has the answers.

He is the source, the author of all truth. He has perfect knowledge and understanding and He knows the possibilities and outcomes for each situation we come up against.

The catch

 In today's conversation with His disciples, He answered their question in straightforward, plain language. The disciples even remarked, "Now He's talking plainly!"

He doesn't always do that. Sometimes… His answer is "trust Me". 

Jesus promises to provide our every need, not our every want. He will always supply the answers we need. 

At Christmas, we are willing to wait to find out what's in those packages under the tree because we trust that they are good, and provided by someone who loves us. It's the same way with the answers God withholds for a time. He loves us, the answers are for our good, but it's not yet time.

Even so, He never says to stop asking.

Are there not twelve hours in the day? John 11:9

In John chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. His disciples question the wisdom of returning to the Jerusalem area, after the religious leadership committed themselves to His death. Jesus responds with this proverb. He had a mission, and until it was finished He was still on the clock.

That drive and commitment came from a deep understanding of several things that we forget or never grasped in the first place:

He had a clear sense of purpose.

We often wander through life, doing okay, but without a mission. A mission, or a purpose, or whatever you call it, doesn't have to be a big, complicated, 'move to the jungles of Africa' kinda deal. I believe my mission is a teaching mission. Right now, it's primarily raising my kids, instilling God's truths in them, modeling the up and downs in this walk. I also teach some at church and I believe writing is an extension of that.

He had an intimate relationship with the Father.

This takes time and effort to cultivate. Being a Christian for thirty years doesn't necessarily qualify. It comes from seeking God's heart, and laying ours completely bare. I struggle with this one, I admit. I know a lot about God. Sometimes, I wonder how well I know HIM. I believe it's a progressive thing, an ever-deepening relationship. The key is active pursuit.

He knew that timing is in God's hands.

Until the moment He gave up the ghost, Jesus seized every ministry moment. He wasn't sidetracked by opposition, threats or setbacks. I am easily sidetracked, slowed down or stopped by little things.

He knew the results were in God's hands.

God never holds us responsible for how others respond to His message. Was Jesus a failure because the Pharisees never believed? Of course not. In a few more chapters, we'll hear Jesus pray, "I've done what You gave me to do."

What about you? Are you doing what God has given you to do? Take heart. It's still daylight.

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In John 10: 34-36, Jesus continues His face-off with the religious leaders. They were indignant that Jesus dared call Himself the Son of God. He quotes a psalm in which God Himself calls a group of leaders 'gods' because they received God's word and were responsible for carrying out His law and divine justice. In the religious leaders eyes, that was acceptable. No blasphemy there.

In the last post, we saw how Jesus WORDS were what set them off, but He brings the discussion back to His WORKS. If what He DID failed to substantiate what He SAID, then don't believe Him. But if His works validated His claim that He WAS the Son of God (and they did…) then the Pharisees and their cohorts had no excuse for their unbelief.

Unbelief is different than doubt. Unbelief is willful. It is hearing the words, seeing the evidence and choosing to discount it. We know how this works when it comes to salvation. God loves me. (He said so – WORDS.) Jesus Christ died for me. (A WORK that proves it.) If I believe those things, God responds to that BELIEF by erasing my sin debt and granting me eternal life.

Because we grasp that so easily as Christians -we call ourselves believers, after all- we tend to think that unbelief is no longer an issue for us. That's not always the case. Consider:

• God said He would take care of us (WORDS). He has taken care of us in the past (WORKS). God won't see us through some present difficulty (UNBELIEF).

• He said He would never leave us (WORDS). He gave us His Holy Spirit (WORKS). We feel abandoned and alone (UNBELIEF).

• God has a purpose for us (WORDS). He gave us spiritual gifts to accomplish that purpose (WORKS). We sit on the sidelines (UNBELIEF).

Jesus wouldn't let these guys weasel out of it. He confronted them with their unbelief. How will we respond when He confronts us with ours?