A Lesson from Peter
Life is filled with distractions. This is a reality even when we are not in the middle of a world pandemic. I tend to keep the following biblical words in my heart. “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1.9). As parents, we constantly teach our children healthy ways to react to anything. If we are not careful, the constant barrage of distractions will always interfere with other things that might be more beneficial.
I hope you take a moment to read John 21.20-23. In this encounter with Jesus, Peter is preoccupied with John. We are not told exactly why Peter was concerned with John at this moment. We only know that his attention was in the wrong place. Jesus, as always, has the perfect response. “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me” (John 21.22).
His summary was simple and can be easily applied to nearly every distraction that we face. Peter, don’t worry about what I do with this person – you have your own responsibilities. I need that reminder. There are many things that I have zero control over right now. And that’s okay. It’s not my world—it’s God’s world. My shoulders are not big enough to carry his responsibilities. Neither is my mind. I need to learn to let go and move forward in healthy ways. Learning to focus on my responsibilities and the things that I can change is a step in that direction. This is not always easy, and sometimes we need help learning how to do this. As always, please reach out to us if you need help. A simple question is, “What can I do for God today?”
For now, I have a great place for you to start. If you tuned in for worship on Sunday, Patrick challenged us to read through the gospels by Easter Sunday. You are certainly welcome to figure out your own schedule, but I will provide one as well. At this point you have 14 days, providing you finish up Sunday morning before our service, to read all four gospels. Below is a possible schedule. I realize the schedule for John is not balanced. This is intentional. It reflects the natural storyline of John and causes us to focus only on the final events of Jesus on Easter morning.
Today – Matthew 1-7
Tuesday – Matthew 8-14
Wednesday – Matthew 15-21
Thursday – Matthew 22-28
Friday – Mark 1-5
Saturday – Mark 6-10
Sunday – Mark 11-16
NEXT WEEK
Monday – Luke 1-6
Tuesday – Luke 7-12
Wednesday – Luke 13-18
Thursday – Luke 19-24
Friday – John 1-8
Saturday – John 9-17
Sunday – John 18-21