I was reading John 21 the other day, and a passage from that stood out to me. At this point, Jesus had reinstated Peter after his denials of Him, given him a mission to feed His lambs, and told him what kind of death he would die. It’s pretty weighty stuff. To finish it off, Jesus said to Peter,
“Follow Me.” 20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
John 21:19-22
I love how Jesus basically told Peter to mind his own business. This passage stood out to me because it’s so easy for us to compare ourselves to others and their callings. I’m sure we’ve all seen people who are excelling in what God has called them to do and are making a big impact in the world, and we’ve probably looked at ourselves and thought, “And what am I doing? Maybe I should do what they’re doing.”
This passage is a great reminder that we are called, above all else, to follow Jesus, not what other people are doing. God has made each and every one of us for a reason and given us our own calling, and each calling is equally important to the body of Christ. Paul writes,
“For in fact the body is not one member but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?“
1 Corinthians 12:14-19
We’re not all called to be in the marketplace, ministry, schools, or trades, and the list could go on. But our differences in callings are all so important to the Body of Christ. May we all learn to be confident in our own callings as we follow the Lord.