“Inquiring minds want to know.” It’s The National Inquirer’s basis for existence. So they say. To a degree there’s truth to it. If not so, it would have folded long ago.

There seems to be an insatiable interest for sordid details into people’s lives. I can’t help but wonder if some aren’t obsessed with such. Look at the kinds of things covered on shows like Entertainment Tonight. Why would ET cover the stories they do if this wasn’t so? Apparently, there’s great desire for the succulent scoop on Hollywood’s elite. There’s a longing to know about the secret weddings and tawdry affairs of the stars. Would it, as a television show, endure if it weren’t the case?

I could be wrong, but I’m inclined to think that not all the stars care for the constant probing into their private lives. Jennifer Lopez’s secretive wedding wouldn’t have been covertly planned had she wanted photos of it to be slapped all over television sets. I think stars deserve some freedom from disturbance and a break from the paparazzi. I don’t think fame warrants the surrendering of all rights of privacy. Quite frankly, I lean towards the thought that overly obsessed people that feed off of this kind of information, themselves, have serious issues.

I appreciate that Jesus didn’t value meddling. At the close of John’s gospel,  he tells us how Peter inquired of Jesus as to who would betray him (John 21:20). It’s an interesting question. Peter had already denied Jesus. Judas had already betrayed Jesus into the hands of those who crucified him. Apparently, Peter had conditioned himself to believe that there was more betrayal to come. Given the preceding verses (vv. 18-19), Peter could be thinking just about anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t, itself, just another rumor. We simply don’t know. Anything was possible.

John reveals, from the third person vantage point, how he had been following Jesus and Peter (v. 20). That Peter is thinking suspiciously of John for doing so is evident (v. 21). I suppose the real question is…Was his suspicion warranted? I don’t believe so. Jesus knows what Peter is doing. But it’s not implausible for Peter to be thinking that John would betray the Lord, and as a result give Peter over to die. This is reasonable, especially, if the thoughts of vv. 18-19 are lingering in his mind.

Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (v. 22). One might conclude that Jesus, himself, had an inherent suspicion of another impending betrayal because of his response. After all, he doesn’t explicitly deny the suggestion. Why Jesus answered this way we’ll never know on this side of eternity. Regardless, whether Peter is on to something or not, it was none of his business. The most important thing was for Peter to follow Jesus, and not let himself get swept away into another denial himself. He needed to tend to his own matters. Soon his faith would really be put to the test!

Unfortunately, Peter couldn’t do that just yet, nor could he keep his mouth shut. “So the saying was spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’” (v. 23). Peter didn’t listen very well to Jesus’ advice. He instead gossiped about his inferences from Christ’s words. All he did was increase speculation and make matters worse.

Some things simply aren’t my business. Some things aren’t your business either. Peter shows us that curiosity can get the best of us, leaving us with egg on our faces. I’m inclined to think Peter learned his lesson (1 Peter 4:15).

There’s a fairly new show on A&E entitled Hoarders that captures life as a lot of people know it. Each show documents the lives of generally two people who cannot let go of things. They hoard all kinds of things, and they are suffering as a result. Their families often are trapped as well. Homes fall under decay. Cities threaten to levy fines and/or condemn houses altogether because of the health hazards that are created by the sickness of hoarding.

On the show, counselors work to help those entrapped in their hoarding ways through psychology, as well as through the clean-up process. It’s painful to watch people anguishing over getting rid of what to most of us is junk. People desperately cling to what seems to be insignificant. Oftentimes, people even hoard trash and rotten food. It’s saddening to watch, but what’s even worse is to see how so many see themselves as not having any problem.

We can become obsessed with things and not even be hoarders. Jesus spoke of such people (Luke 12:15). But life doesn’t consist of the things we collect. Life is about much more important things- God, community, love, family, friends, and etc. The things that we cling to are things that endure.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5, HCSB.

We cling, by faith, to something that isn’t subject to destruction, cannot be tainted, is resistant to decay, and his heavenly in its constitution. What God gives as his inheritance endures. It lasts.

Instead of desperately clinging to things that do not endure, may we remember the things that do!

Heartburn is real. Most of us, at some time, have experienced it. It’s no fun. No fun at all.

So I find it intriguing that there is a heart burn for which I currently yearn. This burn is different though. It’s been experienced before, but not by me. I sense it is immensely powerful. It must be, because simply reading about it has instilled in me a desire for it.

The gospel historian Luke writes of how two disciples are traveling by foot, on the road between Jerusalem and Emmaeus. It appears they are discussing events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus appears, but they don’t realize its him, for “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). His inquiry into their conversation amazes them, given the buzz going around Jerusalem. Still, unbeknownst to them, they are conversing with the resurrected Christ. So they offer him a dinner invite and he accepts. Luke says, “When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight” (vv. 30-31).

And then comes the recognition of The Jesus Burn. The two express to each other the mutual burn that came with their time with Jesus. “Did not or hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (v. 32).

Their walk with Jesus formed in them both a burning sensation in their hearts. What a wonderful testament to their experience with the Christ.

Scripture tells us that Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17). Does his presence in your heart create a similar burning sensation? There have been times when I’ve sensed his nearness, but I long for his burn. I hope you will to!