What is that to you? You follow Jesus!

Jesus and Peter have a conversation right at the end of the Gospel of John (chapter 21).  In this conversation, Jesus charges Peter with the responsibility of caring for his sheep.  He then foretells a little about the way that Peter will die.  Peter, wondering about his fellow apostle John, said, “Lord, and what about this man?”  Jesus replies, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"

I wonder how often Jesus might offer that same answer to us when we ask about the fortunes and opportunities of others.  Lord, what about this man?  “What is that to you?  You follow Me!”  Why does that guy seem to have gotten all the breaks in life, while I struggle so much?  “What is that to you?  You follow Me!”  Why did he get that job and I didn’t when I would have done it better?  “What is that to you?  You follow Me!”  Why don’t all these other people have to deal with the particular misfortune that I do?  “What is that to you?  You follow Me!” 

This is reminiscent of a parable Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-15:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?' "They *said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He *said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.' "When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. "When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. "When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.' "But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 'Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'

Some people will end up having done more work in life.  Some will have suffered more hardships.  Some will endure more trials, while others will have an easier path.  But in the end, God will deal with us fairly.  He will not defraud us of our just due.  If he is generous to others, “What is that to you?  You follow Him!”  As long as we make it to heaven, then we will have been well compensated for anything we endured along the way.  On the other hand, if we miss heaven, then we’ve missed everything.