“Take heart, I have overcome the world.”
Immediately after Jesus spoke those words, He prayed for the future Church to “be united,” just as He and the Father were, that way the world would know Him.
What is unity?
Unity means to be joined in purpose and passion, and involves exchanging our will for Christ’s will. Even though unity is difficult, Jesus seemed to believe it was necessary if the world was going to know Him.
When we cultivate unity in the body of Christ, we acknowledge that Jesus is in control and that His grace is sufficient to cover our differences.
Today, let’s seek God’s heart and ask Him to draw His Church together as one, so that the world will believe in the One that God sent to unite us.
Jesus,
Thank You for overcoming the world. Because of that, we can experience unity with You. And because we can be unified with You, we can experience unity with each other.
It’s by You all things are held together. As we seek to center our lives around You, help us to see all the ways You are at work in the world.
Draw us closer to Your heart so that we begin to see each other the way You see us. Would that encourage us to look out not only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others.
We want Your kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, so unite us in purpose so that nothing keeps people searching for You from believing in You. May we experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent us and that You love them unconditionally.
Come, Lord Jesus, and do in our lives what only You can do.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.