When Jesus prays for his people what does he pray for? Does he pray that they would believe the right things? Does he pray that they would do things in the right way? Does he pray that they would have many spiritual gifts? Does he pray that they would be good people? These are all good things and Jesus wants these too, but he didn’t pray for these things when he prayed for his people. When Jesus prayed for us, he prayed that we would be united. In a fragmented world a people united under a higher purpose would be a compelling sign. This is what Jesus wants for us: unity. Christians, sadly, divide over many things and, when we do, we look just like the fragmented world we live in. The existence of different Christian denominations, by the way, is not indicative of division. This is diversity, not division. The church does not need to be centrally controlled to be united. Nor do we need to do things all in the same way. Unity is not uniformity. To be united we must focus on the greater truths of the faith that bind us together and not allow lesser things to fragment us. We must respect, and even appreciate, our differences. Are you working for unity in your church? Or are you doing things, however small, to cause disunity? To cause disunity in the church is to work against the desire of Jesus expressed in this prayer. What is the thing you most want for your church? Jesus prayed for unity. Let your desire agree with his.
Reflect on how you can work for greater unity in your church.
Read John 17:20-26
