As Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, in those extremely tense and stressful moments before he was arrested… he held a prayer meeting. If I was standing in his sandals, I would be so consumed with the impending doom that I would not have anything else on my mind. I would be praying for God to save me, or give me a way out. I would be praying that he protect me and let me live longer so that I could continue to minister in his name. I want a quiet
death… not a crucifixion… please father! A couple of years ago I was on a flight from Orlando to Colorado Springs that hit some terrible turbulence. As we
were getting beat around and some luggage fell on the guy in front of me from the overhead storage compartment, I started to freak out! I started thinking about my wife and kids and praying for God to please just let us land safely. I started thinking about my life and what I needed to repent for. I made plans to change if God would just let me off of that plane! No one else entered my mind. I was totally self absorbed!

Jesus, in his prayer found in John 17:20-26, does something different… and seemingly a little bit curious unless you understand his continual mission mindedness. When faced with his death, he takes this time out to pray for… wait for it… the unity of his followers. Unity? Really? That’s what Jesus wanted
to take time to pray for? In one of the first weeks of our life groups the statement was made that “Because this was said at the end of Jesus’ life, it would be wise to pay attention because Jesus would have been focusing on the most important things before he returned to his father”. So Jesus, looking at all he had accomplished and taught, knew that one of the hardest things for his followers to do (especially in the turmoil) would be to stay unified.

How true does that ring for us today? We as “individuals” are constantly being drawn towards what we like and away from what we don’t care for… in our relationships in the world and in relationships with our brothers and sisters. Jesus lays it out for us though when he says it is imperative that we stay unified “…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”(vs21) When we are unified, people will believe we are from God. When we are seen to be divisive and divided, people will reject what we have to say even if it is directly from God’s mouth! Unity can be hard, that’s why Jesus prayed for us. It can be hard to bite your tongue at an ignorant or hurtful comment instead of responding in kind. It is hard to not seek revenge even when we may be completely justified in getting it. It’s not fun to have our perceived “freedoms” hindered by those that think they know better than us, and to allow them to have their way for the sake of their soul. It’s annoying to put up with people that we do not like or have wronged us or who do things that we find to be absolutely annoying… and to force ourself to look for how you fit together as the body of Christ. The Lord knows I know! But Jesus showed us how important it is to him by praying about it in the garden of Gethsemane. My prayer this week for us is exactly what Jesus said in verse 23: “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.”

Striving alongside you for the prize,

Jay Cline