The House You're Building

      Orient  John 21:1-25 The final chapter of John, the book concludes with an appearance of Jesus to Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and Joh, and two other unnamed disciples.  The men were fishing and Jesus calls them to shore for a meal.  In this chapter, a well-known dialog between Jesus and Peter occurs where Peter reaffirms his loyalty to Jesus which serves as a parallel to his trice denial.  The book then ends differently than the synoptic gospels, without the resurrection story but a brief conclusion by the disciple John.     Introduction I’m a fan of reality shows.  I think it all started in the early 2000’s with American Idol.  I love seeing non-celebrity reactions to extreme situations.  One I’ve watched for many years is the show Survivor.  A classic scene in most seasons finds the tribe members sitting around a fire eating fish as it is commonly one of the natural food ...

  [ 24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 12:24-26   When I first became a Christian, I was intrigued by the concept of idolatry.  I had been to enough Sunday school classes with flannel board pictures to know that worshiping idols, a prohibition by God in the moral law [1] ,  had to do with gold statues.  In my childlike faith I never imagined that I was in fact breaking this same commandment—I didn’t bow down to precious metal objects! I was surprised to learn that I was in fact worshiping idols because they aren’t only concrete item.  An idol is anything you worship, honor, or eleva...