Manifested love, Pt 34: We may be one
John 17:20-26 20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23I 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. 24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Romans 12:4-5 4For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
1Corinthians 12:12-14 12Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
All of them may be one
Some commentators see the call for unity, for oneness, as a call for the disparate denominations in the believing community to reconcile their differences and acknowledge the unity of their faith in Jesus Christ. But verses 22 and 23 speak about the desired oneness being of the same nature as Jesus has with the Father. This is clearly of a different nature than mere separation because of a human construct such as liturgical differences. The other verses speak of the believing community as one unity comprised of many individuals having a variety of skills and gifts which combine to create the one Body of Christ. But even that misses the point. If there is one characteristic that is shared between Father and Son it is love. This love is not of a kind known to the circles of polite discourse. It is not like that between man and woman, nor friends, nor even family members.
No, this love is a fully consuming, completely intimate love that exists completely for the benefit of the other. There is no pride involved, no neediness, no hidden agenda. This kind of love persists in the face of every obstacle, every trial, and every opposition. Such love is not in the heart of a person. We have pride, self-interest, and agendas. Only God can exhibit this kind of love, and it is this kind of love which informs unity. But make no mistake: Although this sort of unity dwells in the soul convection between people. It is expressed only through outward action. It is not enough to feel love on some deep level. One must also live out that love, that unity, through shared experience with others. This means we can’t be couch potatoes. Here’s an example: In our congregation there is a person who struggles with alcohol addiction. This person’s heart is right; he loves God with as much strength as he can muster, but his weakness causes relapses. Do we leave such a person to deal with their struggle alone? Certainly not! One family did the person’s laundry. Another found a Bible-based rehab in a neighboring state (so as to isolate him from familiar traps), another paid for bus fare, another took him to the station. It was a community effort to set up the person for success. This is God’s love in action.
Continue to make you known
Did you know that the church is only one generation away from extinction? At least in human terms, all it would take for Satan to win would be for one generation to fail to transmit the Word of God. Of course that would never happen as the Holy Spirit is continually energizing the hearts of men to share the Good News. Christ, through the Holy Spirit will continue to make his Father known to the world so that the Kingdom of God may advance.
Do you also recognize that the vast majority of Jesus’s hearers rejected his message? I’ve occasionally wondered why we have had to wait so long for Christ’s return. One reason is that it takes a long time for the Message to get to every ear in the world. The other is that most people initially reject it. But the Holy Spirit is faithful and slowly, gradually, and haltingly the Message has spread.
What about me?
Now, I can hear the complaint from someone out there who might say, “You don’t really expect me to talk with every stranger I meet do you?” First, if that were the case, the Holy Spirit would empower that person to do exactly that. But, anyway, that’s not what I mean. Evangelism is only one of the gifts of the Spirit. Not all of us are skilled in it, and preaching is not the most effective means of spreading the Word. The most effective means of spreading the Word is to allow the love of the Father to manifest in our heart and for it to show in our everyday lives. When we live our lives for God, that is, when we live to please him, then we open ourselves to be asked a question. “Why do you act the way you do? You seem to be different.” Once that question is asked, all bets are off. Then you can talk about why God is so important to you, and why you want to to please him in the way you live.