You Follow Me.

Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."  John 21:22

This weekend there were twenty four of us at the lake house!  The high school youth group came "Up North" for their girls' spring retreat.  The spring part was a bit dubious because of the still thick slushy snow on the ground with more snowflakes occasionally falling. But we were fine, the fire was bright and cheery and the camaraderie inside the "cottage" made us all warm and cozy.

The theme of the retreat was the great value the Bible places on each of us in the sight of God.  I wish you could have heard the different leaders speak because they all said awesome things about the treasures that we are in His eyes.

But, in this blog, I'm going to focus on something that keeps us from believing what the Bible says about our exceptional individual value to the great God of the universe - comparison! Comparing ourselves to others is so damaging. It starts so very young.

I have a few memories that go way way back in my life.  One of the very clear ones is my first day of kindergarten.  I was four years old!  In those days they had morning kindergarten and afternoon kindergarten.  My mom took me up the steps of Franklin School, deposited me in the classroom, waved goodbye and left.  I stood there excitedly in my new buckskin with fringes cowgirl jacket, and looked around to find a friend to play with.  The various intriguing play stations with groups of children beckoned.  I knew it was going to be a ball....

Then - I looked across the room and there was Susan Kay Hardin!  (Name changed to protect the innocent - she might be reading my blog)  I stared at her because she was the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen. (Maybe Susan Kay would be happy to read that)  She had perfectly curled long blond hair and big blue eyes.  She was wearing a red plaid smocked dress and shiny black patent leather shoes.  And she was crying.

Two teachers and her mother were patting her shoulders and hugging her. They assured weeping fragile- looking little Susan it would be all right.  But she only cried harder.

So, guess what I did? I, who had been so excited about school, realized that my mother had left and I was getting no attention, so I burst into tears.  But no one came and comforted me.  I was alone and Susan Kay had all the attention.

My mom picked me up after school and asked me how I liked it.  I said, "It was okay."  But I had lost my joy because I compared myself with Susan Kay Hardin.  Even my jacket, the leather smelling good riding home in the car, didn't seem to compare with Susan Kay's perfectly smocked dress and shiny black shoes.

There it was, a great new start in my four year old life, diminished by my comparing little eyeballs. Years later, when I thought about it, I knew a tomboy like me would never have been happy decked out in a little sissy outfit like that.  But comparison sure wreaked havoc with my first day of school.

There is a great example of comparison in the last chapter of the book of John. The disciple who Jesus loved tells us amazing things are happening!  The resurrection has occurred!  Jesus is risen! The disciples are out fishing in the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus comes to the edge of the sea and appears to them on the shore.  He helps them catch a lot of fish and then He fixes them breakfast.  After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him?  Peter answers yes, three times, and he is saddened because the Lord keeps questioning him.  Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him three times. Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.  After this exchange of words, Jesus has Peter's complete attention.  The third time, the Lord continues and says:

"when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."
This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.  And when He had spoken this, he said to him "Follow Me." John 21:18-19

Peter knew that Jesus was telling him that if he followed Jesus he also would die by crucifixion.  Tradition says that when Peter was old, he protested that he was not worthy to die like His Lord. The prophetic words of Jesus were true, he was  crucified, but upside down.

Peter had just told Jesus over and over how much he loved him!  I think he understood perfectly what Jesus was telling him and he was okay with it until: comparison.

"Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following....
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"
Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me."  John 20a, 21, 22.

Can't you relate to Peter?  "Oh, Jesus, I'll follow you anywhere, even to the death.  But, wait, what about uh, him, what about her?"

We're doing just fine, we're filled with devotion to our Lord.  And then all of a sudden, we start looking at someone else, comparing our lives to their lives. We say, "Lord, I'd be so much happier serving you if I could wear the red plaid dress and the black patent leather shoes. The buckskin jacket that fit so well a few minutes ago - well, it just doesn't feel quite right anymore."

How quickly comparison happens.  I don't know what your comparison hot buttons are:  your looks - too tall, too short, too fat, too thin, your job - too much favoritism, too much work, too little pay, your house - too small, too old, too inadequately decorated,.....compared to whose?  What about the great tragedies of this life that we all deal with?  Isn't it tempting to look around and say, "But, Lord, what about this man?" 

And to that, Jesus who has just asked us if we love Him, looks at us with great love and says, "What is that to you?  You follow Me."