“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.
Pastor Art Barrett
New Life Christian Fellowship (Concord)
“Father the time has come.”(v2) What does Jesus do as He heads into the most significant invitation/challenge of His life? He pauses to pray for the “kairos” moments (God opportunities) of the community of His followers. Jesus’ life and the cross reveal the glory of the Father. Jesus says the way His followers live in unity, too, will reveal the glory of the Father. This glory is the revelation of God’s love, beauty and majesty to the world. It is this glory that Jesus has revealed to you and me.
“I have given them the glory that you have given Me.” (v22) It is this glory that allows the character of our unity to expose the love and beauty of God to the world. The heart of Jesus’ prayer for His disciples (that all of them may be one), steadies our aim so we can see His love and His prayer for the world (so that the world may believe that you have sent me v21).
Jesus’ disciples are not meant to live in isolation from the world, nor in insular separatist fragments of Christian community, but we do. The word “disciple” means “learner.” May we continue to learn how to live – as one in Christ so that the world may know Jesus’ true nature, character and beauty.
What do you hear in Jesus’ words today? Do you hear an invitation to relationship or a challenge to live out? Answer this honestly, and you will reveal a “kairos” opportunity with God today.
Dear Father, the time has come. We want to be Jesus people. Thank you for the glory You give us as a community, in order to reveal Your love, Your character and Your beauty. May these days bring us to “kairos” opportunities. May we choose to live out the divine oneness Jesus says is ours. May it be done on earth in your church as it is done in heaven with Father and Son, so that the world will know. Amen.
