Lesson 17

Unity.

"Now this is Eternal Life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one-I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."     John 17:22-23

Read John Chapter 17

Throughout Jesus' prayer he repeats the same things over and over again. The loving relationship between God and Jesus, and Jesus and his disciples and the connections of Father in Son, Son in the disciples and the disciples in Jesus and this incredible bond of Unity...not just Unity but Complete Unity!

Currently there are approximately 38,000 different Christian Denominations in the world today. It shouldn't surprise us, it's human nature to disagree and be dis-unified. Traditional hymns in worship vs contemporary or no music at all, morning services vs afternoon, communion before a message or after, Republicans & Democrats, rich and poor, Jets & Giants, Manchester United and Man City, Northerners and Southerners, blacks and whites and everyone in between, Catholics and Protestants, husbands & wives, brothers and sisters, Rap or Country music.....the list goes on. We can all find something to disagree about, I sure can!

So how do we find this Compete Unity?

Jesus is the example! He shows us that he and his Father are completely united, that even though they are separate they are One! And once again in Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus demonstrates how he surrenders his will to the Father's will through prayer and submission to be united. At the beginning of his prayer Jesus is overwhelmed, he doesn't want to go to the cross, he knows how painful it's going to be and he pleads with God to take it away, for there to be another way. He goes back to God three times pouring his heart out to God but by the end of it, Jesus is surrendered to his fate, not just surrendered but determined and confident to go towards it. I don't know what transformed Jesus in those 3 hours, I wish I was a fly on the wall in that conversation, I can only imagine. But I do believe that somehow during that time Jesus was reminded of God's Love and God's Power and Jesus put his trust in God.

The disciples were very different people and we can see that in the writers of the New Testament. Paul was different from Peter, James was different from John, Matthew and Mark were different from Luke. But they all had one thing in common that united them, Jesus Christ and the love he had for them! They wrote about him, they talked, preached, served and lived out their lives following Jesus and his example and almost all of them died following that example. God is love, Jesus is love and we are called to love one another! Love builds unity. The love of the Father in Jesus, the love of Jesus in us and our love in Jesus. Any time something becomes more important than God's love and loving one another, unity breaks down!

Some questions to ask.

1: What example of Jesus can you imitate today by loving another person?

2: When it's challenging to love another person, how can you imitate Jesus and his prayer in Matt 26:36-46.

3: When you find things in another Christian that you disagree with, can you look for things that unite you?

4: How is your knowledge and experience of God's love for you so far?