When Peter saw John tagging along behind him and Jesus on their walk down the water's edge, he became so distracted he lost his focus on Jesus. (John 21:20-23) "Lord, what about him?" was is question. Jesus had just told Peter how things would be for him when he was old (John 21:18) and he could not help wondering if it would be better or worse for John. When we read Jesus' response it is as if He was telling Peter to mind his own business. What was ahead for John was not Peter's business, but the business of John and Jesus. (John 21:22)
Most of us have enough trouble managing our own spiritual stuff without trying to figure out what is happening in someone else's walk with Christ. The temptation with which we struggle is the one of comparing how things are going with us and another. Maybe we are tempted to think that our faith should give us a favored place with Jesus. Or, maybe, we figure someone else is getting all the spiritual breaks and we are getting none. Regardless of what prompts us to play the compare game, it is not the way Christ seeks to lead us.
While we cannot live as some kind of spiritual island, we can only be responsible for our own spiritual journey. We are never expected to manage the spiritual life of another. We cannot be in charge of them when, of course, reality tells us we are not really in charge of our own. Jesus calls each of us on this journey of faith. Each one is equipped according to the will of the Father. Each one is moved toward a purpose that is God given. Even as we are called to trust God to lead us along the path He has prepared for us, so does He expect us to trust Him to do the same for those who are walking the road of faith alongside of us.
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