“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
I don’t know about you, but I feel that there is more and more division among people than I have experienced in my lifetime. In my mind, I believe and think that we are getting closer and closer to each other; however, what I see in the world is people getting further and further apart. Where is the unity that Jesus spoke of in his prayer to God the Father recorded in the book of John? I’m quite sure that there will be no unity in those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, but what of the ones that do? How is it that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have such distance between themselves?
I think it all revolves around the word Lord. We have been given the Lord Jesus’ glory through the Holy Spirit, but in order for us to live into that glory it means that we must yield to the Holy Spirit as Lord. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love people different than us, forgive at all times and live lives in unity with anyone despite any differences we have. But if we aren’t growing in the understanding of the Lord and becoming more “in Him”, then there will be no unity. So how do we grow in the Lord? Well, I believe it is through worship, and coming together.
Do you know that church attendance across all denominations has dwindled for the last 20 years in America? If we aren’t coming together in worship, praying with each other and learning from the Word of God, how can we be growing in the Lord? The glory of God is in those who believe, but lays sort of dormant like a seed with no water because we want to continue to be Lord of our own lives. It is time for all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to make worship our number one priority in life and reach out to those around us seeking to fulfill Jesus’ prayer for us.
Jesus’ prayer will come to pass one day. I for one want that day to be now. I want to see what the world would look like if we lived up to the glory of God living within us and we were truly united. Congress can’t legislate unity, a President can’t call for unity and it happen, Judges can’t mandate unity, we can’t buy unity, unity just doesn’t happen, it can only come from those who believe (the church) coming together and letting Jesus be who He is. He is Lord!!!
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)