The Lord Be With You Today!
John 21:19b-20a
Then He said to him, "Follow Me!"
(In John's closing chapter of his story of Jesus,
he has just related Jesus' loving affirmation of His restoration of Peter
after Peter's earlier denial and repentance
by giving him the mission of feeding His sheep.
Here, Jesus gives a new invitation, a new mission,
to this man of God to follow Him.)
Peter turned and saw that
the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.
(Because of his earlier failure and present restoration,
Peter needed to be invited again to follow Jesus.
However, John knew his standing with Jesus
was based on how Jesus viewed him.
Because he knew he was the disciple whom Jesus loved,
he didn't need that special invitation.
The young John, the disciple whom Jesus loved,
didn't have to be redirected or told to follow Him.
Because John knew who Jesus said he was,
the disciple whom Jesus loved, he was already following His Lord.
Peter had to be told to do so, lovingly and tenderly, but still needed to be told.
In John's last attestation of what he knew about his relationship with the Lord,
that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved,
the Lord shows us when we know who we are in Christ,
the disciple whom Jesus loves, that, like His friend John,
that knowledge, that fact, that truth, empowers and strengthens us
to obediently and faithfully follow Him.
When we base our relationship with Jesus on the rock-hard fact
that we are the disciple whom Jesus loves,
we are able to joyfully and devotedly follow after Him,
and He will lead us and guide us in the way He desires for us)
May the Lord richly bless you this day!
In Christ's love,
Blessings!
Sally
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