This unity thing

In John 17, Jesus poured out His heart in prayer and what we see is an ocean of concerns and passion that will flow into eternity. He prayed for the unity of His followers here with a passion we should take seriously. (John 17:11, 20-23)

I love Albert
Barnes and his commentary on this subject.

The union of Christians,
for which the Saviour prayed, would be complete or perfect if there were no
controversies, no envyings, no contentions, and no heart-burnings and
jealousies.

It is worthy of remark
here how entirely the union of His people occupied the mind of Jesus as He drew
near to death. He saw the danger of strifes and contentions in the church. He
knew the imperfections of even the best of men. 

He saw how prone they
would be to passion and ambition; how ready to mistake love of sect or party
for zeal for pure religion; how selfish and worldly men in the church might
divide His followers, and produce unholy feeling and contention; and He saw,
also, how much this would do to dishonor religion [the Christian faith].

Hence, He took
occasion, when He was about to die, to impress the importance of union on His
disciples. By solemn admonition, and by most tender and affecting appeals to
God in supplication, He showed His sense of the value of this union. 

He used the most
sublime and impressive illustration; He adverted to the eternal union between
the Father and himself; He reminded them of His love, and of the effect that
their union would have on the world, to fix it more deeply in their hearts. The
effect has shown the infinite wisdom of the Saviour.

The world still lies
in wickedness; and the friends of Jesus, bound by the cords of eternal love,
should advance together against the common enemy, and spread the triumphs of
the gospel around the globe.

I’m studying Roman 14 this season and asking many questions. Here’s one- “What should constitute the core elements of the “unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace” graciously gifted to us?”

Author: Uche Izuora

I'm inspired by God’s passion for His name in every generation, which provokes global worship through Jesus Christ. Becoming an emotionally healthy and transformative disciple, I aim to mobilize the Church to engage in cross-cultural missions and raise other like-minded disciples who discover themselves in Christ and seek to present and represent Him as Savior and Lord among the nations northward of Uganda. View all posts by Uche Izuora