Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

John chapter 21, verse 20.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.

I'm just going to pause there.

We're not even going to read the whole verse.

There's a lot going on in this context, but I want to pray

according to that simple phrase that John, who's writing this gospel, uses to refer to himself.

Peter turned and saw, not John. He doesn't say Peter turned and saw me. He says Peter turned and saw, not John.

He doesn't say Peter turned and saw me.

He says, Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Like, that's how John saw himself.

Like, his identity is, I'm the disciple whom jesus loved now we know from other passages that there actually was like some competition between these disciples over who would be the greatest and

jesus spoke into that and there's a sense in which you could read

this to be like, yeah, like, is this, is this John saying, just loved me more than others? I don't,

I don't think so. I think and based on all we see in John's writings here in the gospel that he is written,

and then in 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, like it is clear.

This is John's identity in his mind and his heart.

Like, who are you?

I am a follower of Jesus whom he loves.

And I just want to encourage you to see your identity for all of you who've trusted in Jesus in the same way.

Like, don't tie up your identity with your career, right?

Because when your career's not there anymore, then where will your identity be?

...