It’s None of Your Bee’s Wax!

We are on the verge of a much-needed break, Father. Help us to be refreshed and rejuvenated, all within Your will and direction. Amen.
John 21:18-25 (<<click here to read the passage)
At my age, it’s a little less pressing but it still comes to mind. I mean I chose to be where I am at and to do what I do. But I look at other pastors my age and occasionally I wonder, “What if?”
What if after my last stint in full-time ministry – almost 20 years ago – I had continued to pursue that direction? I was offered a position as a pastor of a very good-sized congregation. But honestly felt, for a multitude of reasons, that it was not what God wanted for me. How would I have done? Would I have succeeded? …or failed? Where would I be now? Would I still be pastoring? Would it have impacted my immediate family differently? …all kinds of questions.
But what-ifs get us nowhere. That is not the path I chose. And God has faithfully led me down the path that I followed. I know that I differ from “normal” pastors, but I also know, without doubt, that I have impacted lives with whom those “normal” pastors may never have come in contact. I have loved, and continue to love, those who were not within easy reach of the church. As a bi-vocational pastor, by choice, I have kept my finger on the pulse of humanity.
We tend to compare our lives to others, whether to rationalize our own level of devotion to Christ or to question God’s justice.*
After getting a hint as to what his future held for him, Peter turned around and seeing John behind him asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” v21 NLT
“You hinted about how my life will go, what about him?”
Jesus replied in verse 22,

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” NLT

We often become fixated on the goings and comings of others, but Jesus responds to us as he did to Peter: “What is that to you? As for you, follow me.*
As a youth when my nose got too far into someone else’s business I was often told by my mother, “It’s none of your bee’s wax!” It was none of my affair. I was to take care of myself and they would take care of themselves.
Lord Jesus, there is nothing to be gained by comparing ourselves to others. Each of us has unique experiences with life and You use all of those to shape and mold us into who we are today. We are each distinctive in what we bring to the table in service to You. We are all ministers in Your more than capable hands. May we yield and find ourselves fruitful, not for our own selfish desires, but for Your Kingdom and eternity. Amen.

*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation

Nov 23^rd, 2021, Tues, 8:20 pm