In the book of John, starting in Chapter 14, Jesus is comforting his disciples. The time for the crucifixion is drawing near and the He is giving them some last pieces of advice: love one another, He is the only way to the father, the holy spirit will come and dwell after He is gone, the vine and the branches, etc. All these verses, no doubt, you have heard before. Me too. But I never read the rest of it, all that Jesus said right before He was taken by the soldiers in the garden. In chapter 17, Jesus begins to pray and He first prays for himself, then He prays for His disciples, but then He prays for me! And for you!
John 17: 20
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that 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. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I 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. 24"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. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I 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."
I really can't believe I never knew this before. That Jesus, in all His glory, prays fervently that you and I would be one and that we, too, would experience God's glory just as Jesus has. And He says that He will continue to make God known to us so that the love of Christ can be in us. Wow. I look all around me and see that He has kept that promise to make himself known. All you have to do is seek and you will find Him. Of all the things Jesus could have prayed for, He prayed for us and that we would be "one." It was that important to Him that we get along and not have strife between us. If it was that important to Him, then it ought to be that important to me to keep peace with those around me. Of all the commandments God could have set in motion, loving your neighbor is the greatest one. And how can we truly worship God if we don't love one another, right? "What you have done for the least of these, you have done to Me"...so if I am being awful to someone or holding a grudge against them, I am doing it to God. Ouch. That hurts and is very humbling. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. The good news is that we serve a forgiving God that loves us so much that His son prayed for us, then died on the cross with us in mind, so that we would not be condemned by our thoughtless actions and could spend eternity with Him!
John 17: 20
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that 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. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I 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. 24"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. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I 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."
I really can't believe I never knew this before. That Jesus, in all His glory, prays fervently that you and I would be one and that we, too, would experience God's glory just as Jesus has. And He says that He will continue to make God known to us so that the love of Christ can be in us. Wow. I look all around me and see that He has kept that promise to make himself known. All you have to do is seek and you will find Him. Of all the things Jesus could have prayed for, He prayed for us and that we would be "one." It was that important to Him that we get along and not have strife between us. If it was that important to Him, then it ought to be that important to me to keep peace with those around me. Of all the commandments God could have set in motion, loving your neighbor is the greatest one. And how can we truly worship God if we don't love one another, right? "What you have done for the least of these, you have done to Me"...so if I am being awful to someone or holding a grudge against them, I am doing it to God. Ouch. That hurts and is very humbling. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go. The good news is that we serve a forgiving God that loves us so much that His son prayed for us, then died on the cross with us in mind, so that we would not be condemned by our thoughtless actions and could spend eternity with Him!
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