NOTES for Joh 21:21-25
Does it happen that someone fails to notice our good deeds and actions, our sacrifice? Yes, in general, quite often, if we are in fact doing those good deeds. And what reaction arises first? Despondency, annoyance, the desire to say that you will not do anything anymore. We lose patience and, at best, become sad.
The same thing can be projected onto our relationship with God. Quite often we wait for some confirmation of our thoughts and actions, for a reward for an uneaten piece of sausage or some other ascetic "feat." But God does not always answer immediately. And our reactions to His silence are generally similar to resentment at the inattentiveness of those close to us.
But the Lord leaves nothing unnoticed; He sees both what is secret and what is open (see Matt. 6:4). In addition, Jesus speaks wondrous words: the Lord, having been glorified in someone, will glorify that person in Himself. God simply has His own view of our human time, and only He knows when someone needs encouragement and when instruction is needed, giving that person a chance to stand "on his own two feet." The Lord will forget nothing done in His name, and He will receive the one who did it in His Kingdom (see Matt. 25:31-40).