♫ Hey there Peter, can you help out brother John? Life is just a vapor then its gone, gone, gone. So eyes on Me, Yeah, eyes on Me. Jesus said, keep your eyes on Me. ♫
John 21:20-23 NKJV 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?”
John 13:35 NKJV "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In the context of time, this passage occurred after Peter had denied Jesus three times. Peter had deserted his Lord when the Lord needed Him most. With that in view, it's not hard to imagine that Peter was struggling through some form of self loathing. The old "could-a, would-a, should-a" routine must have flooded his mind. The good news for Peter was that when Peter needed Jesus most, Jesus was there. Post resurrection, Jesus took the time to make him breakfast and, most importantly, to look Peter in the eye and restore Peters heart. It was an intimate time. Jesus would later reveal Peters end during this time. Still, unable to read the reverential room Peter essentially blurts out, "Well, what about John?" In response Jesus says something along the lines of, "What's it to you Peter? You follow Me." Aren't you thankful for Peter? We have all struggled in similar ways. "What about Sally Lord?" "What about pastor Jim?" Jesus tells us today, "What about them? Stay focused on Me." There is an old phrase pastors use, "beware the snare to compare". Our growth as believers, our strength, in fact every benefit we find in scripture does not come from focusing on anyone else's business, it comes from our own personal connection to Christ. Through Christ we find we don't pick our siblings apart, we love them!
Question #1: Our culture seems to be obsessed with keeping our focus on others through various forms of media. What affect does that have on you?
Question #2: What about closer to home? What happens when we find ourselves preoccupied with others who we deal with closely. Might be a church member or a ministry leader. How does that affect your walk?
Question #3: What is the solution for spiritual distractions?