One Final Lesson

John 21:18-25

As we come to the end of this book the Lord engages Peter and John in one final lesson. He shares with Peter about his aging process and then about his death (v. 8-19) and closes with the statement “Follow Me!” That is the real key to the Christian life. Although we will never be able to lead the sinless life Jesus did, we certainly can follow his teaching and example. Matthew (16:24) quotes a conversation Jesus had with His disciples “if anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

I believe Peter and John had a very close relationship. They were very opposite in personalities and often opposites are attracted to each other. John obviously was present during this conversation and Peter is curious about his future. So he asks the question, “what about this man?” Jesus basically says, that is between Me and him; and reiterated the important thing for you is to “follow Me!”

How do we follow Christ? The first step, of course is to believe in Him as our Savior realizing that through His death on the cross He paid the price for our sins and through His resurrection we have eternal life. The second, and extremely important step, is to allow Him to be the Lord of our life; that is a moment by moment process. We study His Word and then be obedient to His teaching. When we sin, we quickly recognize it and confess it (I John 1:9). Communication with Him through prayer and meditation becomes a consistent habit.

Finally we fellowship with other Christians who love Him. I’ve found it to be important to find mentors that I can learn from as I have matured. Those mentors are men and women who have lived through experiences before me and whose example I can follow. We must realize, however, that all of us are sinners and our friends and mentors will disappoint us at some point. That doesn’t mean that we can’t love them, respect them, and learn from them. Look for Christians who are mature in the faith and whom you can trust to be a good example.

God bless!