Why Would You Say That Out Loud?

Do you ever stop and think about why people say and do certain things? Haven't you had moments when you thought, "Why in the world would he/she say that out loud?" I know God created us to have incredibly different personalities, which makes the world a more interesting place, but sometimes I wonder what really makes people act certain ways!
 
Lately I have been thinking about John, as in one of the 12 disciples John, and wondering what he was really like to those who knew him best. Not only was he a disciple, but he was also a good friend to Jesus.  In fact, he was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  He was on the scene during Jesus' earthly ministry, so he definitely had the scoop on the happenings of that time. His gospel does a wonderful job of showing us the life of Jesus. He was right there with Jesus, so I know all of his accounts are spot on. 

In chapter 20 John tells about Jesus rising from the dead.  This is the most beautiful, wonderful story in all of history, but check out what he said right in the middle of the story!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  (John 20:1-3)

The story goes on to tell about the hope and certainty of the Christian faith, but I got caught up in wondering why on earth John would refer to himself as "the one Jesus loved." Then a few seconds later he pointed out the fact he had outrun Simon Peter on the way to the tomb.  None of this was the focus of the story, and it seemed kind of funny and odd to me that he would share this.  Was he trying to be funny? Was he being sarcastic? Was he a guy who just liked to give tons of details when he told a story?  I can't really be sure if he was being any or all of those things,  but one thing I know is true: John's heart was pure and he loved Jesus. 

Maybe those details in the story were put there to make us wonder and seek why he said those things. I asked a lot of people this week why they thought he chose to include those details.  No one I spoke with had a definite answer to my questions, but in my quest to understand I did discover something I think is important.

Sometimes when people say things I don't think they should have said out loud, I may tend to judge them.  I don't mean to do this, it just accidentally happens.  This scripture:

 reminds me that I don't know everything, and it is not my place to judge the actions of others.  I am thankful God created us all differently, and I am going to work hard on leaving the judging to God. Next time someone says something I think is inappropriate, instead of questioning their motives, I am going to try to celebrate our differences and look to see what lesson or blessing God is showing me.

I only included a little of John's story about the resurrection of Jesus.  I encourage you to go back and read the rest of the story from the book of John. Hallelujah!  He is Risen!