“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:20–21
As Jesus was preparing to face his arrest and then crucifixion, one of his final acts was to pray . . .for you. In John 17 he prayed for his disciples, those he would commission to launch his church. But then he lifted up also those who will believe in me through their word. That’s us! Our Savior, the Son of God, prayed specifically for us.
And what did he pray? That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. He prayed that we would be united to him and through him, and thus united to one another. He wanted his followers to be so united that the world could not help but believe that we are his.
This is Jesus’s heart for us today, his yearning for his church: be united to him and through him, be united to one another because we are his. And by this, the world will see the reality of the gospel in all its beauty and saving power.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
