Christ’s Prayer For Unity - Answered!
Sam Hamstra | Apr 22, 2008
The emerging "Living Hope Church" gathered for the third time this past Sunday afternoon when 50 people, representing several "tribes and nations," came together in the dining hall of the Chicago Christian High School (Palos Heights, IL) for a "providential feast" (the calvinist version of "Pot-Luck Dinner"). After a great dinner, we enjoyed a time of worship which culminated with the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The evening also included teaching on unity with diversity. Here's a summary of that important word:
The apostle John has recorded the story of Jesus celebrating the Passover with his apostles in an "Upper Room." On that night, Jesus offered his "last discourse," his final teaching before heading to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was betrayed by the kiss of a friend. Jesus wrapped up his final teaching with a prayer, one some label as the "high priestly prayer." In that prayer Jesus offered this request: "My prayer is not for (the apostles) 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" (John 17:20-21).
Now here is a beautiful thing: God the Father answered the prayer off His beloved Son! (And would we have expected otherwise?). The apostle Paul teaches that God the Father has, in fact, made us one. In Ephesians 4:4-6, we read, "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." With those words, Paul teaches us that, we who call ourselves Christ-followers, and who also happen to be a pretty diverse and messed up group of individuals, have been made one by God's grace!
Now that's not the end of the discussion! If only it were for, while God has graciously made us one, we tend to mess up. While we are family, we occasionally act like strangers. So, while God has created unity, He calls us to maintain it, to reflect it, to embody it. God is looking for us to celebrate our unity within, and in spite, of our diversity.
That's why the apostle Paul wrote on more than one occasion, "Let us make every effort to keep the unity" (Ephesians 4:4). The challenge facing us, clearly, is how do we do that? First and foremost, it would help us to keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, instead of highlighting our differences, celebrate our sevenhold unity. Celebrate that which unites us! But there is more! It takes work to maintain the unity that is ours! More on that next time!
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