You follow me

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22, ESV)

I suppose it’s natural for us to compare ourselves with others. I know I do.

But ultimately, comparing ourselves to others distracts us from what’s most important: following Jesus.

I was thinking about Peter and how when he saw Jesus, he leapt out of the boat and swam to him.

My first thought was, “I wish I had his passion.”

My second thought was, “That’s not me. There’s no way I’m every jumping out of that boat to swim to Jesus.”

It’s not that I don’t love Jesus. It’s just not my personality. (Would you have jumped out of that boat?)

But I felt like God was saying to me, “If it was my will to make Peter that way, what is that to you? I made you the way you are. You follow me.”

God doesn’t want me to be Peter. He doesn’t want me to be my pastor. He doesn’t want to be any of the other Christians I know. He wants me to be what he’s made me.

God feels the same way about you.

And if you and I just keep our eyes on him, following him, and being faithful with what he’s entrusted us, that’s enough for him.