John 17 Devotional
Not of This World
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” -John 17:1
John Chapter 17 is a beautiful narrative of Jesus praying for himself, his disciples, and for all who come to believe. This passage is rich with emotion and love as Jesus glorifies God and the work that has been done on earth through himself and as he encourages love and unity among believers as well as between believers and God.
It is always important to consider the context of scripture, and in this passage, it may be easy to overlook the fact that Jesus is quickly approaching the end of his life on earth. As he prays this prayer, he is nearing his time in the garden of Gethsemane, where he begs the Father to “remove this cup” from him. What an emotional time this must have been for Jesus, what desperation he must have felt in pleading to the Father on behalf of himself, his disciples, and all believers…..including you and me.
Knowing the enormity of the situation, we can assume that Jesus’ prayer at this time would be very focused on what he considers to be the most important message to those he will be leaving behind…..unity. And not just unity, but complete unity. Unity between believers, the Son, and the Father
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. -John 17:23
All of us strive for unity with God. After all, our relationship with God is (or should be) the most important thing in our life. But can we truly have unity with God if we do not have unity with other believers?
Unity can be a hard thing within the church. Even when our intentions are good, we may have strong differences of opinion with other believers. Pride, unforgiveness, and other struggles within our fallible human hearts prevent us from extending grace and mercy toward other believers, even though immeasurable grace and mercy have been extended to us by God. When we consider how much emphasis Jesus places on unity, we come to realize that disunity within the church is a very serious problem.
Paul urged believers in his letters to make unity a top priority in the life of every believer:
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. -Ephesians 4:1-6
But why so much emphasis on unity? Why is it so important that we bear with, forgive, and love each other in unity? John 17 goes on to explain to us why complete unity is so very important:
…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. -John 17:21
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. -John 17:23
Love and unity within the church is not for the sole purpose of promoting peace within the church. It is our witness to the outside world, to a broken and lost people who are in need of God’s salvation. When we are in conflict with other believers, we send a very bad message to unbelievers, a message that God strongly disapproves of. But love and unity among the body of believers sends a beautiful message to unbelievers. One that is not of this world. One that draws them to us and to Him. One that can only be experienced through knowing Jesus Christ.
Are you “bearing with” your fellow believers as you should be?
Is there someone within the church that you are having trouble extending grace and mercy to?
Does the “outside world” look at your church family and see a beautiful message of love and unity, or is our witness one of bitterness, slander, or dissension?
If you are convicted in any of these, join Jesus in the prayer that he prayed FOR YOU and for me, so long ago….
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. -John 17:11
By this all people will know that we are his disciples. Love one another.
Comentarios