What about him? (Parting words on John’s Gospel)

I loved our study on the Gospel of John. My buddies and I read this book together for over a year. We walked with Jesus and one another as we considered these words.

The story ended with a little moment where Peter was told he would die for Jesus. Peter’s response was, “What about him?” He was speaking of the writer, John. What grabbed me here was that each of us are called to a different thing. Whatever it is, Jesus says to us, “Follow me.” I simply must follow Jesus no matter what is going on in everyone else’s life around me. We each have a different journey, and gifts and story that Jesus is writing.

I started flipping pages in my old, worn-out bible looking at all the underlines, asterisks, highlights and notes. Too many things to list. What stood out to me most, this time through, was the purpose of the book as stated in chapter 20.

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31 ESV)

The main thing for me is that Jesus came to give us life! Real life comes through belief in him. Belief in him comes from testimony, both from the scriptures and from personal stories. I am called to build my faith by reading the bible (on my own and with my friends), listening to testimonies from my friends, and then sharing the bible story and my personal story with others. In this community activity I have a more abundant life than in anything else I do. As I live out this story in a loving community with my friends I find life to the full.

What about you?