Jesus Wants Us to Be Ourselves

God had you in mind specifically when He created you and called you to follow Him. We are specially designed according to each of our callings. Yet when you face difficulty in fulfilling that calling, you may look at others and wonder, “Why does their burden seem not as heavy as mine?”.

Do not worry. In Yohanes 21, the apostle Peter experienced the same trial.

"Lord, what will happen to him?"

After the risen Jesus provided a miraculous breakfast for His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, He invited Peter to take a walk along the shore. Jesus wanted to tell Peter several important things before parting physically for the last time. About ten meters behind them, John was following.

At the end of the conversation, Jesus revealed a bitter reality to Peter: “Truly, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go." Jesus then looked into Peter’s soul and said, “Follow Me.”

Peter, already anxious as he awaited Jesus’ final departure, began to wonder whether that frightened group of disciples would survive without Him. Peter wondered whether he himself would survive.

Now Jesus was even telling him that he would not survive. Peter was ready to die for Him. It was just that, this time, Peter did not make an overconfident declaration like he had at the Passover meal. He knew how weak he was. On his own, he was a coward.

Yet Peter remembered that he would not be left alone like an orphan. Even though Jesus had to go now, He would come again (Yohanes 14:18). Peter believed Jesus never fails to keep His promises. Still, Peter found it hard to imagine how Jesus would come to him at the moment of his execution. He already felt lonely right then.

Besides, Peter wondered why Jesus did not speak about the deaths of the other disciples. Was he the only one who had to die?

Then Peter saw John walking behind them. Knowing that Jesus loved John, Peter thought: would Jesus spare John from the price he himself had to pay? Pointing at John, Peter asked, "Lord, what will happen to him?"

Jesus answered Peter with His usual gentleness, “If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You, follow Me.”

"What is that to you?”

Jesus calls each person to follow Him (Yohanes 15:16). All God’s promises are “yes” for us in Christ (2 Korintus 1:20). Each of us receives a share in Christ’s inheritance (Kolose 1:12), and as members of Christ’s body, we need one another (Roma 12:5).

Yet this does not mean we perform the same function (Roma 12:4). Every disciple, every member of the body, has a unique role. And each one must live the life that God has entrusted, to which we are called (1 Korintus 7:17).

The sentence, “What is that to you,” is something we need to say to ourselves often. How God deals with other people often becomes an excessive source of anxiety for us, especially if their path is not as hard as ours.

Sin keeps us from seeing others and rejoicing that each person is a unique image of God (Kejadian 1:27). We do not celebrate how every human being is a distinct refraction of God’s multifaceted glory. We do not rejoice in the care God gives to others. It is hard to give thanks for the strengths that God has given them. We do not want to be gentle when dealing with their weaknesses (Ibrani 5:2).

Pride and selfish ambition make us use other people to measure our own importance. How successful and impressive we will be.

“But you: follow Me.”

In Jesus’ words, “… what is that to you? But you: follow Me,” there is a declaration of freedom. Jesus died to set you free (Yohanes 8:36), and this includes freedom from the tyranny of comparing yourself and wanting someone else’s calling.

God had in mind you when He created you (Mazmur 139:13-16). God knows what He is doing. You, your body, your mind, your situation, are not a coincidence or an accident. Yes, God knows your shortcomings, and yes, He calls you to grow in grace gift (2 Petrus 3:18). Yet, God did not design you to be someone else or to follow someone else’s path.

Jesus wants you to be yourself, just as you are. His confidence in you enables you to walk the path of life He has given you (Roma 12:3). And His grace is sufficient when you must face trials (2 Korintus 12:9).

You are most yourself not when you analyze or compare yourself with others. You are your truest self when your eyes are fixed on Jesus (Ibrani 12:2). When you follow Him in faith. When you serve others with the gifts He has entrusted to you (Roma 12:4-8).

So, whatever happens today, no longer say, “Lord, what will happen to him?" Because Jesus has chosen you (Yohanes 15:16), supplied all your needs (Filipi 4:19), and wants you to follow Him.

If you humble yourself under His mighty hand, trusting that God will redeem you from all suffering, every ‘thorn in the flesh’ (2 Korintus 12:7), and your weakness, He will exalt you in due time, in a way that will bring Him the highest glory and you the greatest joy (1 Petrus 5:6).

Amen!