Yep, you guessed it, John 17 is one of my favorite passages! No, but really … it is.
One thing I love about it is that the night before He was crucified, Jesus prayed … for US. Sure, He was praying for the disciples in His immediate area, but also for those who would believe through their message; He’s praying for you and for me. This prayer reaches across all the generations from then to now and penetrates the hearts of believers still today.

He didn’t pray we’d gather large crowds, have worldwide influence, or even support tons of missionaries. He prayed that we’d be one. He prayed for Godly unity.

Earlier in the same prayer, He asked the Father to sanctify HIs people with the Truth. This unity Jesus sought for us isn’t built on agreement over every little thing; it is built around Him, shaped by Truth, and firmly cemented in the Father and the Son.

Then, Jesus drops the real powerhouse of the prayer when He states why He wants us to be united around Him: “so that the world may believe"

Then Jesus connects that unity to mission: “so that the world may know.”
That the world may know He was sent by the Father and that He loves them the same way the Father has loved Him! That’s some serious love. The way we live with one another not only says a lot about us, but it also says a lot about Him, and about the Gospel we profess to believe and proclaim to a lost world.

It’s pretty hard to confess we belong to one body while casually speaking ill against one another, engaging in mockery and condemnation of other believers, even when, and especially when, they disagree with us. We can’t celebrate reconciliation with God while refusing movements towards reconciliation with His people. How can we insist on our own rights, preferences, recognition, and comfort while ignoring the needs of other members of HIs body?

This unity He prayed for should be visible.

This unity tells the truth in love, listens before deciding, refuses to gossip, detests mockery and contempt, bears each other’s burdens, and forgives because we’ve been forgiven. It means providing other believers with patient conversation rather than immediate suspicion. It means remaining committed to relationships when they are costly and difficult.

This doesn’t mean Truth is negotiable. Jesus’ prayer holds truth and unity together, and so must we. Unity at any price is not the goal. The goal is a people so deeply formed by the Truth of Jesus, His life and love that the world encounters evidence another Kingdom has arrived.
In Jesus we have already been made one. Here Jesus calls us to live like it.

Where is the unity Christ has given His people asking something costly of you? What concrete act of truth, forgiveness, service, or reconciliation could make that unity more visible this week?

Father, I pray the unity You have provided would be visible in my everyday life. Keep me anchored in truth and shaped by Your love. Give me the courage to pursue peace, humility to listen, and grace to love Your people well. Amen.

“This week I can make our unity more visible by __________________.”