Peter was having another difficult day…

At a fish fry, Jesus and he were exploring the depths of his commitment when Peter asked about the future of his young friend, John.

“What about him, Lord?”

Peter attempted to deflect attention away from himself, but Jesus didn’t take the bait. He responded, “If I want him [John] to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

“What is that to you?”

Do you hear the rolling thunder in Jesus’ words?  They jolted Peter, and his question must have perplexed young John.

And how do WE perceive his challenging question: “What is that to you?”

God’s query should brighten our 2021 sojourn like an unquenchable lightning flash!

To us — who worry that our families are losing the freedom to openly express our faith:

To us — who dread inflation, shortages, and reprisals for our beliefs:

God quashes all these speculations and ignites our faith when we hear his cosmic question: “What is that to you?”

Within Jesus’ words we are rescued from hopelessness — even as we observe what appears to be demonic victories.

“What is that to you?”

We are cautioned to stay out of depressing muck and mayhem, and simply carry out the directive Jesus gave Peter when he said: “As for you, follow me!”

Jesus is leading us safely through the tinder of 2021, and our souls will remain completely unscathed. He is preparing cultures, politics, natural phenomenon and personalities for an apocalyptic unveiling.

Fretting will not hasten the return of Christ a single nanosecond. And like Peter and John, our eternal destinies are bonded to God, and no one else but God.

Far above this earthly grid, Christ followers may soon be chatting (side-by-side, without masks), about the increasing “birth pangs” wracking the world below.

And from our heavenly home, someone will surely remark, “I believe that 2021 was the smoking chaff that set the world ablaze! I’m glad we heeded the Savior’s call to ‘follow,‘ because he led us here!”

Bible Text: (John 21:22)

Jesus replied, “If I want him [John] to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”