UNITY
In nature, a swarm of bees or a colony of ants accomplish seemingly the impossible. That is made possible by their inborn ability to stay totally devoted to the queen bee or queen ant and expend their life in fulfilling their designed role in complete subservience to the queen. In human experience, nothing is harder than staying united. Perhaps that is why, before his death, when Jesus prayed for all the future believers, his theme was unity.
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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. (John 17:20-24)
Several lessons follow from this prayer-
- The model for unity: At the very foundation of the command is the model found in God, where there is perfect harmony between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This passage talks about unity between the Father and the Son, elsewhere, we read about the unity with the Holy Spirit as well. The Biblical description of a triune God encompasses three eternal beings who are so perfectly in harmony and union that they are essentially One.
- Unity with God: ‘May they also be in us’ is a state envisioned by Jesus where man would be able to reach the highest point of discipleship by shunning all that is against God, immersing himself in all that is godly and like a glass that is polished clean of all dirt would perfectly reflect the will and nature of God through his life.
- Unity with each other: Jesus’ passion for the church to be united is reflected in this prayer. Today there are so many denominations in the Christian church, which reflect the diversity of the Christian faith, but also in some ways, the inability of his followers to be truly one. Yet, as one progresses in his walk with Christ, it is inevitable that the intensity of differences that these different denominations represent melts away, enabling him to love, accept and respect above all, the presence of Christ in a person.
- Unity with eternal reality: Jesus’ statement, ‘I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory’ points toward unity with eternal reality. It is one thing to have heard of an iconic building, but another all together to have visited it and seen it with your own eyes. Christian life offers the opportunity while here on earth to behold the grandest eternal reality that man can grasp- the glory of God, experienced through Christ.
- Outcome of unity: The consummation of unity points to the divinity of Christ. Jesus says, ‘Then the world will know that you sent me’. Among other things that help man to find the truth is the reality of unity that is made real among Jesus’ followers. Unity is a powerful statement of the truth. And one who misses to find unity in its manifold beauty misses the best that God offers in this world.
