In my recent reading through the Gospel of John, I've had a hard time moving past chapter 17. In this chapter, Jesus has just finished revealing what is to come for Himself and his disciples at the last supper and begins to pray. He prays for himself and the task at hand, He then prays for his disciples that the Lord would not take them out of the world, but protect them from the evil one (v. 15), and finally He prays for all believers, "those who will believe in me through their word." (v.20) I am continually amazed that He PRAYS FOR US. It captivates me to think of my Savior interceding on my behalf before the Father. What?!
This time as I read the passage, something else stood out to me... In verses 20-23 Jesus prays 4 times that believers "may be one." Each time He prays this phrase, He follows it up with the comparison of the unity of Jesus and the Father. The reason He prays this?
"That the world may know that You have sent me, and have loved them as You loved me." (v. 23)
Our unity with each other and with God is our greatest witness to Christ as the Son of God to a lost and broken world.
Shortly after processing this thought, I realized how often we allow our unity as believers to be severed. Relationships break, churches split, marriages crumble, and believers choose to live in bitterness, resentment, and unreconciled differences with each other. We completely and totally settle for this way of life all the while claiming our rights and and our pride and our way or else. We walk in disunity with our brothers and sisters, our fellow heirs of salvation, and then strive to be salt and light to the lost around us.
Our enemy, "who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8) knows our weaknesses. He has watched us for far to long to miss out on attacking us in the exact opposite way Jesus prayed for us the night before He was crucified.
I urge you to consider your life and relationships. Put on your armor and fight for unity with your brothers and sisters. Wage war against the temptation to let unity crumble around you. Pray as Jesus prayed for the church, His bride
"That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me..." John 17:21
