Lent: John the Apostle

John 19:25-27

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What would Jesus have said to the other disciples if they had been at the cross with Him? Did He truly love John more than the others or was John simply more responsive to the love that Jesus had for all His followers? or simply described himself as "the disciple whom He loved" when he wrote the Gospel because that was the way he experienced his relationship with the Savior, and any of the other disciples would have described themselves the same way if they had written a Gospel account? All the other faithful disciples fled out of fear of martyrdom, and they all survived the Crucifixion yet were martyred later in life after years of serving the Lord. Only John stayed with Jesus through His suffering and death, and only he died of old age. God's economy is not the same as ours...
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How much does your worldview reflect God's perspective? We can cling tightly to our time, our resources, and our safety and find ourselves losing everything. Yet we can hold all those things loosely, clinging tightly to the Lord instead, and find ourselves with more treasures than we know what to do with. John didn't become "the disciple whom Jesus loved" by holding onto his former lifestyle; he gave up everything and has been remembered for 2000 years now for his love of God. While it is wise to take precautions for our safety and to prepare for what the future might hold for us, it is even wiser to be ready to let go of everything in order to follow God's call for our lives. The other 10 Apostles had good reason to fear persecution and death. Yet how much wiser John was for staying close to the Lord despite his fear. He was able to the far greater value of loving Christ Jesus over the lesser value of protecting his physical well-being. Have you learned that same wisdom yet?