Monday, May 20, 2013

One in Purpose, One in Him by Ginger Chapman

 

John 17:20-23

 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that 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. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (NIV)

 

One

 

        My favorite prayer in the Bible is the prayer Jesus prayed just before He was crucified.  In His prayer, He prayed for me (and for you).  The question is what did He mean when He prayed for us to all be one just as He and the Father are one?  We are all individual people.  Look around at how we act toward one another.  Even in our churches there are signs of animosity and bitterness.  I believe a major part of being one is to be of one purpose.  Jesus and the Father had the purpose of showing us the love of God and how God created us to live our lives.  We have a common purpose that should unite us as one.  We are to love and glorify God and share Him with others.  We each are unique and have a unique way of doing this.  The way in which God leads me to share His love with others is different from the way He leads you to share.  This doesn’t mean my way is right and yours is wrong.  We should remember we are unified in our purpose even though our way of showing and fulfilling that purpose might be different.  Let us not be so quick to judge or criticize another but look at each other recognizing our oneness of purpose and relationship to Jesus and our Father through the one and same Holy Spirit living in each of us.  Through His Holy Spirit we are one.

By Ginger Chapman

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