Resurrection 101 - Peter and the Impossible Game of Comparison

Peter considers the path laid out before him and the one he leaves behind. He remembers the day when following Jesus became too much for many, and they chose to opt out.  But, opt out for what? Opt out for whom?

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. John 6:68

The choice is really a non-choice. There is no one else. Everything else, a dead-end.

But, his own history tells him that following Jesus is as impossible as not following Him.  

Is there anyone else feeling the same way?!!!

Peter turns around and sees John.

The beloved.

What about him? Is the path set out for John as strewn with thorns as Peter’s is going to be?

I want to know…  I need to know that I am not alone on this journey, Lord. That others share in the same suffering. That the bitter cup is not mine and mine alone.

Lord, what about this man?

What are You going to do with him? Will he be taken to the places he doesn’t wish to go? Will the fierce storms assail his horizon? Will he be tested?  Will he be tried, like gold is tried in the furnace?

Or will You shelter and protect him…

... unlike…

... me?

The unspoken fears and insecurities, the insidious power of comparison to erode, to divide must be stopped before it infests the minds and the hearts of the disciples.

That, dear Simon, is  none of your business. What I do with him, is Mine and Mine alone. As for you, follow Me.

So, Peter learned that day that it is hard to follow Jesus while keeping an eye on what everyone else is doing. That one can't really follow Him while trying to measure and balance on the faulty scales of comparison the weight of Jesus’calling on somebody else’s life.