“What is that to you?” John 21:22
Jesus has been talking to Peter about the future. Peter wants to know what the future will be like for John, so Jesus asks him this question: “What is that to you?”
What will your life look like ten years from now? Where will you be living? What will you be doing? Who will be the most significant people in your life? What will most occupy your mind?
None of us can answer these questions. Ten years ago, you would not have imagined your life now. What will your life be like ten years from now? You don’t know. You may have some hopes and dreams, but you don’t know the future.
And that’s a good thing. If you knew the future, you’d either get so excited about it that you wouldn’t be able to focus on what God is calling you to do now, or you’d be so burdened by it that you would find it difficult to stay motivated now.
So it is a good thing that we don’t know the future. Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mat. 6:34 NIV).
Too much focus on tomorrow makes life intolerable today. That is why the Bible has no place for fortune telling or astrology.
What is one thing in the future that you’re too focused on and it’s making life difficult?