To Encourage You

John 21:21-22 “When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’”

Throughout the New Testament, believers are instructed to be concerned with the lives of fellow believers.  We are commanded to do such things as to love one another (John 13:34), be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10), honor one another above ourselves (Romans 12:10), live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), be patient with one another (Ephesians 4:2), forgive each other (Ephesians 4:32), encourage one another (1Thessalonians 4:18), build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and pray for one another (James 5:16).  In other places we are told that the church is a body, and every member of that body needs the other members to function properly (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).  How interesting then, that in the verse above Jesus tells Peter what seems, in essence, to be “mind your own business, and don’t worry about the other guy!”  So how can this be in harmony with all the other “one anothers” the Bible commands?  

Well, the harmony comes in the fact that God has given us definite commands regarding our own life. Quite a few of those commands deal with how we act, think, and speak toward others or about others.  Other commands don’t involve others.  For example, when the Bible tells us to pray about everything, those prayers may or may not be about other people. They may be about something that we are facing as an individual when no one else is involved.  But regardless of the nature of the command, the actions of others, whether they are believers or not, do not relieve us from the command. 

For example, the Bible tells servants (employees) to serve their masters (supervisors) as if they were serving Christ Himself (Ephesians 6:5).  But then the question may arise, “But what about him? What if my boss doesn’t deserve to be obeyed? What if he’s a real jerk?!”  To this response the Lord tells us “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:18-20).  In other words, our obedience to the Lord’s commands and will for our lives is not dependent upon the other people in our lives. Nor is it be based on other people we only know about. We are to do what we know to be right because Jesus told us to do it, not because of the actions or lives of some other person. 

Jesus told us to love our enemies – no matter what.  It doesn’t matter if our enemies love us – for by definition, an enemy does not.  Nor does it matter whether other Christians we know, no matter how we may otherwise look up to them, love their enemies.  Our response to anything Jesus has commanded us in His Word is never to be “What about him?!”  God will deal with “him.” Surely, we have enough to concern ourselves with regarding our own obedience to Christ. 

May God help us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, whether others are devoted to us – or Christ – or not.  This is the life that truly honors Christ, Who, while we were yet sinners, died for us.