December 23 - All For One

 Read today’s texts first: John 15-18

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The family of God should have the same kind of unity
we see between the Father, Son and Spirit. 

The teachings and prayers in our reading today are unique to John’s gospel. He gives us incredible insight into the last words of Jesus before His death, which capture the reason why He came to earth. The relationship within the Trinity will always be difficult for us to understand but we see glimpses in these chapters how pure unity works. The Father sent the Son, the Son is about to send the Spirit, and all three fully represent the other. All three are one in their love for us and in their plan to redeem us.

Jesus prayed for all of us, including me, when He said, my prayer is not for them alone [His disciples]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [all of us], that all of them will be one, Father, just as You are in me and I am in You (17:20,21). This is the part that blows my mind - that some day we, the family of God, are intended to have the same kind of unity we see in the Godhead.

Right now we struggle with so many of the imperfections we see in the disciples and religious leaders of Jesus’ day: comparison, striving for power and position, pride, judgment, mistrust, unforgiveness, divisive attitudes, words and actions. No wonder people in the world often have a low opinion of the church! But the intent and the plan is that some day we will love each other as purely as we are loved by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

While this won’t be fully realized until we leave this sin-polluted planet, we should see a perfecting of God’s love in our lives as we grow older. We certainly see this maturing process in John’s life, who was the only disciple to escape martyrdom (though apparently scarred from being boiled in oil). We see such a difference throughout his long life from when we was a young upstart. He and his brother James were nicknamed by Jesus the sons of thunder, for good reason - often striving with Jesus for power and position (with help from their equally competitive mother - Matthew 20:20,21).

“Lord, my prayer today is the same one You had for me before You were crucified, that I would be one with You and my church family. I have so far to go but help me love and serve my brothers and sisters in the church with the same kind of love You have for me.”