Lenten Daily Devotional 2022
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Day 39: Complete Unity
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me." John 17:20-21 (NIV)
When Jesus prayed that “they will be one,” who was the “they” He was referring to? That’s right: The “they” is us, right now, here at Centenary, in this year of our Lord 2021.
In this third and final part of Jesus’ prayer shortly before He was betrayed and arrested, He prays for believers everywhere, from that moment until He returns again. He prays that we, as believers in and followers of Christ, would be united.
But the unity that Jesus prays for is much different and much deeper than the worldly unity that is the buzzword in today’s culture of disagreement, distrust and division.
Rather, it is the “complete unity” that God the Father, the Son and the Spirit have – and that they want us to have as well. It’s a oneness with them that starts with a personal relationship with Jesus, which in turn leads to meaningful Christ-centered relationships with other believers. Does that mean we will agree on every little thing? No. But it does mean that despite disagreements on “disputable matters,” as Paul writes elsewhere, we will be of “one Spirit and one purpose,” that being the cause of Christ in our church and community.
And when the world sees that, watch out! As Jesus says, “the world will know that You sent me.”
--Mark Vasché
In this third and final part of Jesus’ prayer shortly before He was betrayed and arrested, He prays for believers everywhere, from that moment until He returns again. He prays that we, as believers in and followers of Christ, would be united.
But the unity that Jesus prays for is much different and much deeper than the worldly unity that is the buzzword in today’s culture of disagreement, distrust and division.
Rather, it is the “complete unity” that God the Father, the Son and the Spirit have – and that they want us to have as well. It’s a oneness with them that starts with a personal relationship with Jesus, which in turn leads to meaningful Christ-centered relationships with other believers. Does that mean we will agree on every little thing? No. But it does mean that despite disagreements on “disputable matters,” as Paul writes elsewhere, we will be of “one Spirit and one purpose,” that being the cause of Christ in our church and community.
And when the world sees that, watch out! As Jesus says, “the world will know that You sent me.”
--Mark Vasché
Prayer Focus: Pray today for God to reveal how you can glorify Him by building unity with fellow believers.
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