Based on John 21:20-25 (New King James Version)
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.’ 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’ 24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.”
Books of all types have been written in the world and throughout time. And in many occasions, the books that have been written have to do with a story or an account of something, whether it was true or fiction. For example, many books have been written that consist of stories that are dramas, or action, or about romance, or comedies, and there are those that are a complement of all those things. And in every occasion, there is a protagonist and there are other characters, and depending on what the protagonist and other characters do in the story is that interest grows for the book. In more modern times, if there is a book that gains some sort of special attention, the film companies then make a movie out of it. And well, they try to find actors that can portray as faithful as possible the characters in the book, and the point is that the movie captivates the audience as best as possible so that it can be successful. And now, even more so, after the movie is shown in cinemas, then it is shown on television or available for rent, so that it can be seen many more times over. There is not one movie that is made with the goal to fail and that no one would like it.
Now then, in today’s scene (per se) of this very real story, we see more than three beings (the others will be seen more clearly later). We see the Lord, Peter, and John, at least more directly. And Peter (like many times he had done before), with his questions and declarations, asked about John. And something very interesting happened. Instead of the Lord giving him some sort of explanation, he turned the attention back to Peter, and that he should not worry so much about John, but rather, that he should worry more about himself. And this introduces our first point: Many people make reference to others, especially when they are trying to divert attention. Have you noticed that? Even more so, there are many people that judge God for what happens to others. There are people that even determine if they want to be believe in God or not based on their judgment against God. For example, there are people that say that they cannot believe in God because they focus on everything bad that exists in the world, and that if a good God existed, why does He allow for so much evil to occur. The most interesting thing about the issue is that those that complain about this do not do much for their neighbor. They judge God, but they do nothing to help either. And here is where we can apply what the Lord said to Peter, “what is that to you?”
There is something that eludes many people, and that is the purpose of God for our lives. When we love the Lord with our whole being, and when we love our neighbor (because there is an order of priority), in fulfilling that which the intention of God’s law and the prophets consists of, a person is actually doing themselves the best service possible. Because if you don’t love the Lord with all of your being, and your neighbor as yourself, in the end, the person you are affecting negatively the most is you. Quite frankly, you don’t love yourself at all. How can that be? Let’s follow the logic for a moment. When you make God the center of your life, the Bible guarantees you eternal life. And when you seek to follow God’s purposes, by loving your neighbor, everything you do has eternal reward. In other words, when we turn our focus completely towards the Lord and others, we are really achieving something better for our lives, both here and now, and for eternity. There is no greater good for a human being. But, if you don’t love God, then there is no eternal life, no Holy Spirit, and no blessing for your life. And well, you can try to help others, but that will not count for anything because God is not in it. You are completely out of sequence, out of order. The first thing needs to exist so what follows can be possible. So, if you think you are doing yourself a service by not following the Lord, by not coming to obey and look to fulfill His purposes, you are very mistaken. There is no life, nor good, nor blessing, nor anything like that in selfishness.
And here is where we will try to combine the different thoughts. The truth is that we live in a place where a great number of beings and people are watching you, like if your life was being read or seen in a movie. There is something that is being written about you at this very moment. The Bible teaches us this: “1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2. Who is this great cloud of witnesses? I present to you your audience. To start, there is the Divine Trinity and their celestial legions. There is also Satan and his demons. And regarding the visible, there is your family, your loved ones, your coworkers or school mates, the people in stores, people on the street, etc., etc. You have a big audience, both visible and invisible (for the moment).
Now, what books is John referring to? The Lord did many works during His time here on earth, many of which were not written in the Bible. What was inspired and written in the Bible was enough so that we could understand what is necessary. But, because of those works, there are many others that followed; a never-ending chain was created. And how can we see that chain of books today? You and I are a product of that chain of events. That’s why John refers to things the Lord “did”, because those first many things were the ones that made possible today’s things, and those that will continue happening until eternity. The concept of time and sequence of events is something incredible and hard to explain, but it is what it is, whether we understand it or not.
In the end, and considering what we have said today, what’s the book of your life about? What would the different beings that are seeing it say? Is Jesus the main character, or is He a character that comes and goes only, without any kind of importance? Is it a book or a movie that only reflects the self-destruction or just plain existence of a selfish being without God? Would God want to see again the movie of your life, or just seeing it once is more than enough for Him to not want to see it ever again? Lord bless! John