The Inner Calling of John 21:20-23

Neville's Inner Vision

Here the outward dialogue is but a mirror for your inner life. The 'beloved disciple' is your own inner awareness—the I AM that rests its head on the breast of Christ, the source of life and trust. Peter represents the ego’s habit of comparing destinies and measuring another’s fate. When he asks, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus answers, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. This is a directive to cease the disturbing habit of watching others’ journeys and to turn your attention to your own inward commandments. If you truly will to tarry—if you consent to be led by the timeless Presence inside—you are no longer governed by time-bound gossip about who stays or goes. The I AM within will come in its own season, as your assurance and your constant, living path. Humility and faith merge: you stop judging, and you begin following. In that posture, the rumor about the disciple dies away, and a single, steady presence—your Master—reveals your own indwelling union with God.