What Is That To You?

What is that to you? That is a very important question which we all, at some time, need to ask ourselves.

I have observed many people who know the Lord, and I have also noticed a tendency among all of us to practice something that is less-than-best. Even though each of us has been called (by name) to serve the One Who called us, it’s human nature that compels us to start equating our own personal walk with others who claim the name of Christ. We wonder about the walk of others instead of concentrating on our own walk with Christ. It can’t be helped (it is, after all, human nature), and when used in the correct way it can be a source of inspiration for us to pursue Christ in new and deeper ways. When I read the accounts of those both past and present who have given much to serve Him – even to the point of death – I am humbled and grateful for their willingness to carry the cross that Christ has given to them. It inspires me because there are those who overcame the enemy “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11). If they can do such things by following Christ, then so can we!

What is that to you? That type of example is the greatest testimony that anyone can offer to God; a willingness to follow Him wherever He leads and at whatever the cost. However, for those of us who aren’t faced with that kind of choice, there is another path we have been appointed to take. That path is one of service and commitment to Jesus throughout the day-to-day activities of life. Sometimes, through the daily walk we have with our brothers and sisters, a habit can become established which may hinder our pursuit of Christ. The habit I’m discussing is the assessments we tend to make between ourselves and others who claim to follow Christ. It may be that this is in response to wanting more from our spiritual walk, or a way for us to ‘check in’ to be sure we are doing what we should be doing. It could also stem from a feeling of inadequate commitment to Christ. Whatever the reason, it seems we all fall into this kind of thinking at some point or another.

As mentioned earlier, we can gain inspiration and a renewed sense of purpose when we compare our Christian walk with others. However, at other times we can suffer by any comparisons we may make. Why is that so? Often we attempt to gauge our response to the Lord’s direction by what other people can be seen doing. Therein lays a potential trap. Jesus has called us to walk with Him, and by that calling to focus our attention on Him before anyone else! If we start to get overly concerned about what others are doing (or not doing) for Him, we begin to lose our focus. When we lose our focus, we lose our power to follow the way He has set out before us – to take the path that is uniquely ours to take. Should we allow others to be examples for how we follow Christ? Absolutely we should, but not to the point that it negates our own ability to follow Him.

We also need to remember a few things as we look to others for an example of how to follow Christ;

• Are our circumstances the same as those who we look at?
• Are our life experiences the same as those who we look at?
• Are we called to do the same job as those who we look at?

What is that to you? By making surface appraisals between our personal walk and those of others, we can forget that we are all individuals. We are singularly responsible to the Lord for our own lives – and not for anyone else’s life. By becoming overly preoccupied with examining others we can, if we aren’t careful, start to get distracted from our purpose. Even the Apostle Peter fell victim to this way of thinking!

John 21:20-22

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?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

What is that to you? In this passage, Peter was getting instructions from the Lord, just before Christ was taken up into Heaven. What was going through Peter’s mind? Who knows, but I can guess he was thinking of a lot of things; how he had betrayed the Lord, wishing he had done something or how he had run away. Perhaps he even questioned whether Christ loved him any longer? Peter had just looked at the Apostle John (the disciple whom “Jesus loved”) and I can imagine the shame and regret that he must have been feeling. He had ample time to try a little comparison-making of his own. Peter became distracted, and I imagine him questioning within himself, “What about John? What is he supposed to be doing?” He apparently did just that, as his question to Christ points out. Jesus’ answer to him (and to us!) puts all such questions to rest, simply by redirecting Peter’s attention to where it always belonged – on Christ.

Even in our ‘modern world’ that tendency can get in the way of fulfilling our individual mandate to follow Christ. This potential trap is not restricted to the average Christian, either. Even those in the ‘professional ministry’ can be subject to error;

2 Cor 10:12

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

What is that to you? In this passage, the Apostle Paul speaks of those who were supposed to be leaders and elders in the Body of Christ – the church! Instead of keeping their attention on fulfilling the leading of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives, these people had gotten embroiled in measuring their spiritual success against others instead of directly with the leading they have (or should have had) from the Holy Spirit Himself. Paul calls that kind of activity unwise.

What is that to you? This admonishment should serve as a warning and an encouragement! A warning to constantly guard our hearts and minds against this tendency to distraction, and an encouragement in that we know this can happen to even the ‘best’ of us! The end result should be, as always, to reorient our walk to be in line with the direction we receive from Christ. In Christ alone can we find our source of power and victory in life, and in no-one else. This is a daily call from the Spirit of God for each of us to take stock of what we do and/or don’t do, and compare that assessment to what Christ has called us to be. If we need to adjust, then we should adjust. If we are in line with His will, then we can have confidence in Christ and not in ourselves. This confidence will lead to power, the kind of power that can overcome any obstacle.