What Is That to You?
by Katie Harding on August 26, 2024
In June, several of us went to a women’s conference in Indianapolis. We didn’t know until we arrived that morning that the U.S. Swim trials were being held literally right next door at Lucas Oil Stadium. In fact, the stadium was the block between the convention center, where our conference was held, and our parking lot. The first night there, the sidewalks and streets were so congested because both events finished about the same time. Nine thousand women exited our building while thousands of swim spectators exited theirs. Our shuttle bus couldn’t even get through because streets were blocked for pedestrians. Once we heard this, we decided to follow some other women and make the trek to our car instead of waiting. In reality, it was only 15 minutes, but a leisurely walk it was not. As the two groups merged, the best way to get through the crowd was to keep our eyes glued to the woman in front of us. If we took our eyes off the woman in front of us, even for a moment, we would have easily lost our bearings.
Have you ever tried to follow someone through a crowd and almost got lost because something else caught your attention and you took your eyes off them for just a moment? At the end of the book of the John, Jesus laid out His mission for Peter and ended with two words: “Follow me.” But before he did anything else, what did Peter do? He turned and saw “the disciple whom Jesus loved following them,” and asked “Lord, what about him?” And Jesus answered. “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!”
So often, we make the declaration in our heart that we want to follow Jesus, even singing boldly I have Decided to Follow Jesus, and yet the moment something or someone grabs our attention from the corner of our eye, we turn. Just like Peter. We can get so totally distracted or consumed by other people and things. Check your screen time on your phone, and you will see what I mean. We want to follow Jesus, but we want Jesus AND _____. How would we finish that sentence? A busy schedule, smart phone, computer games, late night show? Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “The life of discipleship can only be maintained so long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves…” Where our eyes look, our attention follows.
In this passage Jesus was reminding Peter not to have wandering eyes but to keep his eyes focused on Him. Jesus was calling Peter to his own mission, and He didn’t want Peter’s thoughts to be distracted by the actions or inactions of others. That’s how comparison and competition can creep in. The moment we begin to wonder what others are going to do is the moment we take our eyes off Jesus. John’s journey was between John and Jesus. All Jesus wanted Peter to be concerned about was following Him — to be obedient to His leading.
Has Jesus ever asked you to do something? What was your first response? So many times, the first thing we want to do is to tell others. We can be like the young man who said he wanted to follow Jesus but had to go back home first. The moment we turn and look another way is the moment we stop following.
As we get ready to begin another fall, are there habits we need to stop or start doing to follow Jesus fully? What practices can we put in place to keep our eyes from wandering?