THE SUPREME OBJECTIVE
When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
John 21:18
Jesus is speaking to Peter, and the explanation follows: “This spake he signifying by what death he should glorify God.” What a picture, not only of impetuous, headstrong Peter but of us all in our early days when we did our own will and walked in our own way! We girded ourselves and walked where we wished and prided ourselves that we lived our own lives.
But the man who meets Jesus and submits to His sway comes to the day, blundering and stumbling as badly as Peter ever did, when he submits to what he does not choose for himself, even to death itself. And why? “This spake he signifying by what death he should glorify God.” Our sole business, whether by life or by death, is just that, to glorify God. And when we discover that and do it, we have arrived.