Evening

July 9

John 17:20-22 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.

In the verses that preceded these, Jesus was praying for believers to be sanctified (set apart) through the truth of the Word. He followed that request with the above passage that asked that those who would come to believe through their message would be sanctified also. If those who preach the Word and those who receive the message are all set apart for God, they will be one. We will have one Lord, one faith, and one desire.

Jesus describes that unity as the same relationship that He has with the Father. They are each in the other. Jesus' heart is in the Father, and the Father's heart is in the Son. Jesus demonstrated this by doing only what the Father showed Him. How do we experience that kind of unity? By being in the Son. If I am in the Son and He is in you, then I am in you and you are in me. We share the heart of the Son and seek only to do His will. That does not mean that we will never disagree, but that we will continue to seek His will. Once His will is plain to us both, we will be in unity. When the world sees us, though we are from different cultures and status of life, in seeing that supernatural unity, they will realize they are witnessing a miracle. They will know that the Father did indeed send the Son to be their Savior. Are you in the Son so that the world can see this wonder?

Jesus gave us the glory that was given Him. I believe that is the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to express the heart of the Father in words and in actions. If we will yield ourselves to His life and power, we will express the glory of God. Those who do so will be in complete unity. There is the heart of evangelistic effectiveness.

Meditation: To be fruitful for the kingdom of God, live in Him today!