22Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” [simple_tooltip content=’18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.’](John 21:18-24)[/simple_tooltip]
In verse eighteen, Jesus told Peter that he would glorify Him in his death as a martyr. It’s impossible to know the exact effect this had on Peter. No doubt, it was profound. But one thing is obvious it caused Peter to wonder what would happen to John.
One of the critical mistakes we often make is to examine what God has called us to do in the light of what others are called to do. This isn’t wise. Jesus wisely told Peter to mind his own business. What would happen to John shouldn’t have affected Peter.
Early church tradition says that John was boiled in oil but miraculously didn’t die. He was then banished to the isle of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation and eventually died a natural death. How would this knowledge have affected Peter? Would it have made him bitter? Would he have thought it unfair for him to die a martyr’s death while John escaped the same? Who knows?
Comparing ourselves with others isn’t smart [simple_tooltip content=’For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.’](2 Cor. 10:12)[/simple_tooltip]. Like water, we tend to seek the lowest level. Comparing ourselves with others often makes us compromise God’s best for us or feel condemned because we haven’t reached someone else’s “stature.” We don’t need those comparisons. What we need to do is just keep our eyes on the Lord and fulfill His will for our lives.
Your life shouldn’t be a race with others but a race to be more and more like Jesus every day. True happiness and a sense of fulfillment are found in focusing on what He has called you to do and doing it with all your heart.
