Daily Bread

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’ So the rumour spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’

This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Did you know that if you combine all four gospels and total up the number of recorded days of Jesus' ministry it comes to about 50. We know that Jesus ministered for at least 3 years which is about 1080 days, therefore we only have 4.6% of Jesus' life accounted for in the gospels. And bearing in mind that on those recorded days we only get the highlights, there's a whole heap of teaching, conversations, and ministry about which we have never heard! No wonder John wrote at the end of his gospel, "There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

Through the gospels we get the thrust of the message and enough detail by which we can make a decision whether or not to follow Jesus, join in with the mission of God in the world, minister through the power of the Holy Spirit, and play our part in God's unfolding story.

Our journey of faith is like hiking a mountain trail. The gospel stories provide waymarks, painted on trees and boulders for us to follow that show us the way, but the journey is ours to make, and it is the gaps between the waymarks that are the interesting bit — the views to enjoy, the ravines to navigate, the streams to cross, and the hills to climb.

Life is not something to simply be endured until we get to the end, but something to be experienced. Jesus lived most of his life in the gaps we know nothing about. In our own lives there will be highlights — key moments that become cherished memories — but most of our lives are lived in the gaps that lie in-between, traversing the individual trail that God has laid out before us.

As Jesus reminded Peter in this passage, don't worry about anyone else's journey, focus on your own, because between you and God, you are on an incredible adventure called life.

Holy God
Thank you for
showing me the way,
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Today, as I walk the path
laid out before me,
may I relish
each precious moment,
lean on you to help me
navigate the difficult parts,
and take encouragement
from my fellow travellers.