A PRAYER FOR UNITY

Can I pray for you in any way?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 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. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one—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.”

“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.”

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.”

John 17:20-26

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We live in a world that seems as divided as ever. Rather than living as one, caring and sharing with one another, we’re too often fractured and oppositional. In America, our currency carries a common slogan, “In God We Trust”, and therein lays the answer to all our dissension issues. God isn’t front and center in the way we interact and deal with the challenges that face us all. In fact, in more and more cases, God isn’t even as much as an afterthought because He isn’t considered or consulted at all. A growing majority of people aren’t seeing God as an option.

I think Jesus fully knew what was ahead for the world after He departed it. For the words He prayed for all believers, the final of three prayers found within John 17, carry one main theme: unity. Look again at the prayer words of Jesus here:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 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. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one—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.”

“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.”

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.” John 17:20-26

Fresh off praying for His specially chosen disciples, Jesus turns to all who would place their belief in Him as Savior and His deep desire that they would live with a strong sense of togetherness. Indeed, Jesus prayed that all Christ believers would be One.

How close did Jesus want this “oneness” to be?

His desire was that all Christians would be as united to one another as Jesus was to the Father God He prayed to.

How well are we as a Christian community meeting that hope that Jesus had?

I’m afraid, we have a lot of work to do, and we must do it because Jesus wishes for it to become a reality. That’s why He prayed for it.

So how do we get to that place? How can we turn things around as Christians to where we are truly one body of believers centered on one Savior with no barriers or discord between us?

Jesus gives us the answer for He prayed for all Christians to be in God and Jesus. To be in with them is the same as saying we are in a close relationship, individually seeking to be one with our Father and the Son He sent to save us. Jesus gave us the very glory of God when He saved us, glory grounded in the great love that our Father had for us, a love so deep that it led Him to sacrifice His only Son so we might have the chance to receive the promise of salvation and a new life with Him forever. In turn, we get to help others experience that same glory for themselves when we get to work doing what Jesus commanded us to do, sharing the gospel and making disciples of others.

Do you see what Jesus is getting to here?

We can only be united as a Christian community when we place Christ first, period. Not denominational or doctrinal differences. Not church polity. Not a single separator that the world might consider appropriate for segregation. Our sole focus should be Jesus and Jesus alone.

Can you imagine what the Christian church would look like if we did this as Jesus desired?

It would be nothing short of amazing and a blessing of the highest order.

In the end translation, Jesus prayed for it and the only thing getting in the way of His prayer being answered is us.

That’s right.

We only need to look in the mirror as a collective Christian body and we’ll see the answer to the problem of disunity. It starts with us and the road to get to where Jesus wants us to be, the place where Jesus prayed we would get to, is through Him and Him alone. He (Jesus) proclaimed Himself the Way and the Truth and the Life, the only One who can bring us to God the Father (John 14:6). It’s time for us all to place our full focus on our Savior and be one with Him, the One who is one with God.

If we do this, then we as Christians can lead the world to where it needs to be by first showing unity within our own ranks and then offering a chance for unity to others who would like to be a part of the movement, others who have no current relationship with Jesus.   

So what are we waiting for?

It’s time to get to work and to turn things around. God, our Father, and Jesus, His Son, are standing by to help guide and direct us but we have to put them first if that’s going to happen. The road to unity isn’t that far off. We just need to start traveling the proper path.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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