What Is That To Thee?

“Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” John 21:20-22 

When our children were younger, I would often find myself using a phrase from the above passage to get my point across. For example, our conversation may go something like this:

ME – “________ (child’s name), you need to clean your room.”

CHILD – “What about ________ ?”(sibling’s name)

ME – “What is that to thee?”

Since we had discussed this passage on different occasions in our Bible time, that particular child knew they needed to stop worrying about what their brothers and sisters were doing and, instead, just OBEY Momma.

This morning, this passage served as a similar reminder to me. Adulthood does not negate the need for us to apply the above principle to our lives. Too often, I fear, we adults are just as guilty of looking at the lives of others and wondering why the Lord is not requiring THEM to travel the same path as us.

“Lord, why don’t THEY have to go down this path? Lord, what about _______?”

Ahhhh, but we can’t do that, can we? God’s plan for each of our lives is a “made to order” plan specially designed by God for our perfection.

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:2-4 

This morning, if you find yourself looking around at the lives of others while questioning God’s plan for your own life, I would like to encourage you to use the above passage as a reminder. Although the ultimate goal for every believer is spiritual maturity, we must remember that God has INDIVIDUAL plans for each of our lives. As we submit to His will, He is molding and making us into vessels “meet for the master’s use” (II Timothy 2:21).

I have heard it said, “your history is your ministry”. Do you know what that means? The trials we may be experiencing today are preparing us for future ministry opportunities! Praise the Lord! And, since these ministries will vary greatly from one believer to another, how silly for us to expect the molding and making process to be the same! Like clay in the Potter’s hand, our only job is to stay pliable while we willingly submit to Him.

“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” Isaiah 64:8

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11