John 21:22 – Jesus said to Peter, “If it should be my will that he wait until I come, what is that to you?”
John died and went to heaven, so we know that it was not the will of Jesus that he remained here on earth centuries later. His point to Peter was that it was none of his business. He wanted Peter to concentrate on what Jesus had for him to do – care for the sheep.
I mentioned Romans 12 yesterday in the context of our power to choose. Consider it again today, it is very helpful in revealing God’s plans for each of us. Each of us have been given special gifts to explore and use as we serve in the church. If we identify those gifts, we can know what God wants us to do in life.
I was watching an episode of Star Trek New Generation in which there was a colony of humans who had been bred for specific gifting. Their whole society was governed by this ethos of breeding to specific roles within the group. By the end of the episode, 24 of them wanted to leave because they wanted to be free to make their own choices about how to live.
We have the power to choose our own destinies. Yet it is only as we use that power to choose to obey God that we can live life to the full. It is in discovering what God has placed in us and using it in His service that we will truly experience a full life.
The gifts of God do not restrict us, but empower us to find His plan and enable us to choose to live in it. Will a fish ever be happy living as a horse? The fish has been given gills for a reason and does not have the legs to run across the meadow.
Just like Peter, don’t waste your energy looking at what others have, discover how you have been gifted. Start now by asking what your gifts are then learn to use them in His service.