John 21:20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following" 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? 22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
This passage of scripture teaches us the all-important truth of keeping our eyes fixed on Christ at all times, not permitting ourselves to be distracted by what fellow believers may or may not be doing. In this instance it was Peter, whom The Lord had just reinstated to the apostleship, after having denied Christ three times in the judgment hall of Caiaphas. The question peter asked of Christ concerning John had nothing to do with his own relationship with Christ, and thus it became an irrelevant distraction, which as Christians we should all avoid. The tendency to focus our attention on what others may or may not be doing in the cause of Christ, can lead us to take our eyes off of Christ, and if this happens for any reason, the devil can then use us to do more harm than good.
Those words of Peter, "What will this man do" is often the cause of gossip, tale-bearing and snitching amongst believers, who should instead be focusing our attention on the duties at hand. It was this very question that was asked by Saul's daughter, Michal, when she saw the ark of God being brought back triumphantly into Jerusalem, with singing and great joy. David was at this time beside himself with joy, knowing that the presence of the Shekinah glory was again to reside with his people, and in his expression of joy at its return, he sang and danced with all his might before the ark.
But Michal who was observing the proceedings was taken aback at Davids expression of praise and thanksgiving, and because of this she asked the question, "What will this man do?" Let's read:
2nd Samuel 6:16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 20 "Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
The answer of David to the question "What shall this man do", contains a very valuable lesson for every Christian, for God has not set us as judges of motives and actions over His people. There are times when God has come through for us in marked ways, and in response, praise and spontaneous thanksgiving may come from grateful hearts. We are therefore to exercise great caution in judging such expressions, for they are between God and the individual. Thus the answer of David to Michal, with the resulting curse, bears testimony down to our time, of the need to avoid asking the very same question, "What will this man do?" Let's read:
2nd Samuel 6:21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. 23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
In our day, and in our own experiences we should ever cultivate the disposition to keep our eyes fixed on Christ who saved us, avoiding the many pitfalls and distractions that are incident to wandering, curios minds. If like Peter, God has given us a specific work or ministry to do, let us then do it faithfully, without turning to the right hand or the left, and thus, when every believer in the household of faith follows the instructions of Christ to Peter, "Follow thou me", we will find that we can work together as a harmonious whole, with each one drawing closer to one another, as we draw closer to Christ who is the center.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to keep our gaze fixed upward to the heavens, on Christ alone, and every other believer with their services will fall into their appointed place. Let's read:
Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!