John 17:21-23
Thoughts from Pastor Brian
Dive Deeper
“That they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.”
John 17:21-23
Behind the Scenes
These words were spoken by Jesus in a publicly spoken prayer often referred to as the High Priestly Prayer. Jesus was nearing the end of His ministry and had His eyes on the cross. He knew that soon He would die to redeem the people of the world to Himself. By now He had begun warning His followers of what was to come.
But Jesus’ warnings were not all doom and gloom because He knew that His death would not be the end. So, He reminds His followers of this often. This prayer is so beautiful because it encompasses so much of what Jesus came to accomplish. In today’s verses, Jesus speaks to the ultimate goal- that we would be finally reconciled and united with God, made to be one with Him! As such, Jesus prays that we as the body of Christ would be one as well. He sought perfect unity between not only each of us and Himself, but also amongst ourselves.
Make it Real
It reminds me of the famous quote from Abraham Lincoln, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Likewise, as the body of Christ, if we are divided against each other, we cannot be fully effective for the kingdom of God. When we are working against each other, when we are fighting about which church is better than which, when we are disrespecting and hurting our brothers and sisters in Christ- that’s when the enemy wins.
We have a very real enemy, and he would love nothing more than to render the Church of God useless. He would love to tangle us up in our own webs of selfishness, pride, and confusion. He would love to pin Christian against Christian, getting us to quarrel and fight over inconsequential things and ruining the unity of the body that Christ died to create.
Because here is the truth- God made you and me for community. He made us to fit together. He made each and every one of us lacking and needing so that we would rely on each other and on Him. We have different talents, different interests, different gifts, different perspectives. But these differences were not created in us to divide us. They were created in us to unite us!
But only in the blood of Christ can we be united. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can people who are completely different come together under one banner and work in harmony for the kingdom of God. This is what Jesus prayed for. This is what He died for. He came to reconcile us to God and through that greater reconciliation, to reconcile us to each other.
I know it can be easy to let things divide us. It can be easy to start viewing people as either on one side of the line or the other. But this is not what God wants for us as His Church. Under the banner of Christ and the blood He shed, we are one. We may worship differently than each other. We may have different styles of service. We may be working parents or stay at home patents. We may be republicans, democrats or something in between. But in the end, we are all Christians- and that is a powerful thing!
All the things that this world and the enemy of our souls would love to use to divide us can be the very things that make us the strongest. So, lean in, connect, and embrace unity in the name of Christ. Because, friends, THIS is what it looks like to bring the kingdom of Heaven to earth. And we are always better together!
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Lord,
Help me to put aside my pride and the idea that my way of doing things and seeing the world is the only way. Help me to view my brothers and sisters in Christ through the lens of Your blood shed and not through the lenses that this world would give me. Help me to strive for unity with other believers in my life, even if we see things differently. Help me to die to myself today so that I can live to Your better way.
In the matchless name of Christ,
Amen