Make Us One

"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. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved 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 17:20-23, 26)

On the night before he was scourged and crucified Jesus prayed these words. Take a closer look at the heart and apex of his prayer. Literally moments before Jesus was arrested he was praying for all of his followers including you and me. He was praying that we would be fully united with him and the Father, and in doing so, live in harmony with one another.

The phrase that stands out to me is, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Think through the depth of this statement and consider this truth: the evidence of Jesus' coming here from the Father to save a lost world is wrapped up in our unity. Moreover, the way the world perceives the love of God is directly connected to the love they see in us.

Are you unified with Christ? Are you unified with his church? It is incorrect to say you love Christ but not the church, his bride. "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:19-21)

Today as an act of worship, praise God for his acts of love toward you. Thank him for fulfilling his promise to never leave us. Thank him for the fellowship of believers. If you are not at peace with God right now, know that you can be. He offers us a full pardon from all our sin. If there is strife or discord between you and a brother or sister, pray for unity today. Obey the father by taking the right steps to resolve the matter.

Additional scriptures: Romans 10:9-10, 1 John 1:9, Matthew 18:15-17, 28:19-20,

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