MYOB

S: John 21

O: In the epilogue of the Gospel according to John, the beloved disciple is the first to recognize that the man on the shore is Jesus—perhaps because He repeats a familiar miracle: telling them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat after a night of catching nothing, leading to a miraculous haul.

We also witness the only time in Scripture where Jesus is recorded as cooking breakfast for the disciples—and it’s something we Malaysians might smile at: grilled fish, our very own ikan bakar! 😊

Then comes Jesus’ threefold restoration of Peter—three affirmations of love to match Peter’s three denials before the crucifixion.

But here’s what I want to focus on: Jesus tells Peter, “Feed my sheep... Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

Peter then turns and sees “the disciple whom Jesus loved” following them. He asks, “Lord, what about him?”

Jesus replies, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”

A: So often, we get caught up with comparing our walk with others’. But God’s call is individual: “You follow me.” He writes a different story for each of us. His plans for others may look more pleasant—or more difficult—than ours, but our task is to trust and follow Him faithfully.

In other words: MYOB—Mind Your Own Business. Or more precisely, mind your own walk with Jesus. This doesn’t mean we never speak into each other’s lives—we are still called to encourage one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), and to lovingly confront sin when needed (Luke 17:3–4). But first and foremost, we’re called to walk faithfully ourselves.

P: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Note: I wrote this reflection, but had ChatGPT tidy it up a bit for me.