Bible Reading: John 17:12-23
My prayer for all of them is that they will be one. John 17:21
DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN?
Liberal or Conservative?
Pro-life or Pro-choice?
Israeli or Palestinian?
Muslim, Croat, or Serb?
Rich or poor?
Coke or Pepsi?
Chevy or Ford?
There are thousands of categories or choices that divide people. Some are incredibly important. Some are more polarizing than others. Some are just plain silly. (Just don’t tell a Chevy truck owner that I said so.)
Many people are just plain sick and tired of all the division and disagreement and disunity that exists in the world. “Why can’t we all just get along?” they cry. There ought to be some place where people aren’t divided. There ought to be some way for people of different backgrounds, classes, customs, and temperaments to come together and get along.
There is. It’s called the church.
God’s will for the church is that it be the one place-the one body, actually-where people aren’t divided along lines of race, nationality, gender, class, or denominational lines. He wants you and me and all Christians everywhere to be one with each other, just as the Father is one with the Son, and the Son is one with the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with the Father. Although the three members of the Godhead are different in some ways, they are one in nature, in purpose, in purity, in holiness.
Jesus, the Son, expressed his desire for unity among his followers. He said to God, the Father: “My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father-that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me” (John 17:21).
The more you and I reflect God’s standard of unity, the more people will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Our unity with each other-particularly because it’s so rare in this sinful world-can be a testimony to the power of God.
REFLECT: Why do you think unity among Christians will make non-Christians more likely to believe the gospel? When was the last time you spent time with a Christian of another race, culture, or denomination? How can you do so more often?
ACT: Watch this week for the number “1” (on signs, advertisements, etc.), and use its appearance to remind you of the importance and benefit of unity.
PRAY: “Thank you, God, that you are one with your Son, Jesus, and that Jesus is one with your Holy Spirit.”
