“Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remains till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” John 21:22
The call of Christ is not just a single command to the individual. It is true that it begins with that initial sitting down and calculating what it means to follow Christ and then assessing if one has the capacity to do so. But the call does not stop there. It is a perpetual, blessed command which separates the individual believer to Christ, separated from all lesser things, and especially from those things which are a contradiction to Christ. This call is at the same time a singular one, and this forever, and yet it daily remains a consistent admonition to remember its significance, abiding by its purpose. The call of Christ, and the enduring command to follow Him, never changes. It is thus at specific times, and in different ways, that Christ brings the believer to again visit the meaning of the calling and the command, to realign himself with the truth and significance of it, and then appropriate the grace to again trust God for the strength and power to rise, go forth, and follow Christ, ever entirely, ever onward, and ever upward. There may be moments of temptation, of weakness, of opposition by the enemy of our souls, when strength and commitment seem to waver, even stagger. The consciousness of the weakness, and littleness, of the soul when faced with all that would oppose its pursuit of Christ, and His objectives, is such as to cause the believer to stumble, and perhaps fall. But with the calling of God, and the gracious command of Christ, that quiet impending obligation to rise to one’s feet to pursue the race, and the goal, comes also the blessed strengthening by the Spirit of the heart, mind, soul, and body. It is the renewing, the refreshing, the revitalization of all the soul needs by the Spirit, to quietly return to that blessed place of communion with Christ, there to again and afresh, to know Him and the power of His resurrection.
It was after the death and resurrection of Christ, that He was having a meal with the disciples on the shore of the Lake of Galilee early one morning. After eating, the Lord turned to Peter to ask him three times if he loved Him. Each time, the convicting sword of the Spirit went deeper into the heart of Peter, to the point where Peter could almost not bear it anymore, so that he would respond to Christ by saying, “Lord you know all things…You know that I love you.” Christ’s own answer to every question that He asked Peter was a command with regard to Peter’s calling, and this, in spite of the fact that Peter had betrayed Him three times. Every answer was very simple and specific: “Feed My lambs,” “Feed My sheep,” and “Feed My sheep.” God had not given up on Peter. The command that Christ had given to Peter and to the other disciples several years before, still remained intact, having never changed. All that changed was Peter’s orientation to that command, the realignment to it. However, this time, Peter is closer than ever to the moment when he will know the fulness of the Spirit, that blessed outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, when the power of the indwelling Christ by the Spirit will fill him, enabling him to more fully, and faithfully follow Christ.
Again, at the occasion of this meal by the seaside, we see that this matter of the enduring command remains intact, ever pending and real. Jesus had indicated to Peter the type of death that he would eventually know by which to glorify God. Peter saw John the Apostle pass by, and so then asked the Lord Jesus: “But Lord, what about this man?” (Jn. 21:21) To Peter would come again the very simple, yet penetrating words of Christ: “…what is that to you. YOU FOLLOW ME.” The command never changes, because Christ and His purposes never change.
Dear Father, Lead on King Eternal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.