Why me? What about him?
“I tell you the truth (Peter), when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved (John) . . . 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus said, "If I want him to live until I come again, what's that to you? You—follow me." John 21:18-22 (NLT)
Reflection
Does it seem to you that God plays favorites? Why does God let some off easy while others suffer terribly?
In this passage it appears that Peter wants to know why he’s going to have to suffer horribly while John, known as Jesus’ favorite, gets off easy.
Every parent has had this asked of them. “Why doesn’t Johnny have to do what you make me do?” And every parent has given the answer, “it’s none of your business”. “Do what I told you to do!” And every parent understands that true fairness is doing for each child what that child needs. Every child is different. And each child contributes to the family differently. Some children are up to a bigger physical task and other children are up to a bigger literary or verbal or musical task, for example.
Jesus knew what Peter was able to handle and He knew what John would best accomplish and He commissioned each accordingly. Every time we, in our limited, self centered worlds, try to define fairness in relation to ourselves, we fall short. We can’t do it accurately. We can however know from John 3:16 and elsewhere that God is consummately fair to all. It must be that perspective that we hold onto tightly when we read, “You - you follow me”
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