To Encourage You

John 21:18-19 “’Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

In the passage above Jesus is talking to Peter and prophesying what was coming for Peter in the future.  He told him that a great change was coming. Things would not be as they once were.  You see, in the past, before Peter met Jesus, he pretty much did whatever he wanted.  Jesus boiled this down to the most basic things: deciding what clothes he would wear and deciding what he would do each day, such as where he would go.  In essence He said, “You did what you wanted Peter.  However, if you truly want to follow me, that can no longer be the case.  If you really want to follow me, you will be placed in situations where others may exert some unwanted influence over you, even regarding what you put on your body, and you may be required to go places at the hands of others that you don’t want to go.” 

So, isn’t that exactly what we observed in the life of Christ?  Christ, the sovereign One over all creation can do as He pleases in a way no one else can.  In His Word Jesus warned all of us that we should never say “’Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring” (James 4:13-14).  You see, we may think we can do as we please, and often we do, but there is never any guarantee that we will do as we please for we can’t see the future.  Yet God isn’t like that. He controls everything. He is sovereign. He alone knows the future, and He truly can do whatever He wants (Psalm 115:3).  Yet, even God the Son chose to do other than He really wanted in order to please and bring glory to God the Father. 

We see this perhaps best in Jesus’ anguish in Gethsemane as He prays these words: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).  Of course, here He was speaking about the cross.  So, with Peter, if he was to truly follow Christ, he would have to be willing to, if need be, suffer for Him.  Elsewhere Peter would write, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).  What that might look like might differ for each person, but Jesus wants us to realize that to spread the gospel as He has commanded each of those who follow Him, it may mean suffering, opposition, hardship, or, as in Peter’s case, it may mean death.  No one who is sane looks forward to suffering.  No one wants to be persecuted.  No true Christian wants to die as a martyr. But if following Jesus means such things for the believer, the believer is still commanded to follow Christ rather than to turn from Him and do his or her own thing. 

Any person can choose to be self-centered and thus achieve his or her own goals, within reason. He or she can “walk wherever they want” and give no thought to Christ.  The result can be pleasure, wealth, or wonderful experiences, at least for a time.  But to each person that chooses that path, Jesus asks “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36)?  The obvious answer to this question is “absolutely nothing.”  But to follow Christ, even to the death, always will lead to great gain in the end.