The Journey Continues: Minding My Own Walk

"Jesus replied, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.'” - John 21:22, NLT

"Look, uh... minding my own business is a full-time job. In my spare time, it's my hobby." - Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt, M*A*S*H

We live in a culture of constant looking and comparing. We look at our neighbor's house, our friends' social media output, or at someone's newer car. Sadly, this attitude of looking can creep into our spiritual lives as well, causing us to compare to how someone else "serves God" better, or has a more deep prayer life, or even how much it appears that God has seemingly gone out of His way to bless them, which causes us to ask "What about them?"

Peter found himself in such a position in the last chapter of John's Gospel. 

Jesus had shared with the Apostle Peter a hint of Peter's future, painting a picture of a difficult and painful death. Peter, being, well, Peter, chose to focus on John's potential future, instead of his own, and asks Jesus, "What about him, Lord?" (John 21:21, NLT)

Jesus' response was immediate, and piercing. He returns Peter to the most important thing of all: following Jesus without question or concern about others' walks. I find that these words of Jesus impact my heart, because I often fall into the trap of comparing others' walks and their outward practice of their faith, to the point where I might forget to look in the mirror at my own walk, and the fruits of my faith. 

But what else can we learn from this passage in John's Gospel?

• Comparisons distract us from our calling. Peter stopped looking at Jesus when he was more concerned about what would happen to John. When we choose to pay attention to someone else's walk, we take our eyes off our own pathway, the one that God has chosen for us to walk on.
• God's path for others is none of our business. Jesus essentially tells Peter that John's path was none of Peter's business. Each of us has our own unique walk, our own unique story. Some paths will be quite visible, like Billy Graham or Chuck Colson. But most of God's work is done by individuals who do God's Work with their hands with quiet endurance and faith. Both paths can and do glorify God. 
• The command is simple: follow Me. Strip away the noise, the tendency to compare and be curious about others, and simply follow Jesus. 

We can apply this verse to our daily lives by asking God to guide us in our daily walks, to celebrate the diversity of each individual's unique walk with The Lord, and by recommitting daily to our own personal spiritual disciplines, and not focus on what others do with their walks. 

Our walk with God is a one-on-one journey. Let's keep our eyes looking forward, not over our shoulder or sideways at others, and simply follow Him.

Soli Deo Gloria