Perfect Unity

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What would your dying wish be? If you knew you were praying your final prayer, what would you ask of God?

Perhaps you’d ask that your loved ones would be provided for. Maybe you’d pray that those you leave behind would find solace in their grief. Or perhaps you’d plead that God would grant you comfort as you pass from this life to the next.

Whatever your final wish, it would reveal what you truly value. It would expose what you deem most important and who you hold most dear. 

In our passage today, we hear our Savior’s dying wish. 

In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ last prayer is this: that the church would be one, just as He and the Father are one. This final prayer unveils what is most important to our Lord and King. The unity of His people was—and still is—one of His most central concerns. 

Let’s take a moment to read John 17:20-23:

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one—as You are in me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me. I have given them the glory You gave Me, so they may be one as We are one. I am in them and You are in Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent me and that You love them as much as You love Me.”

REFLECT

Unity in the church feels impossible, especially in today’s sociopolitical climate. But Jesus prayed for it—so it is possible. 

Nothing is beyond God’s power. If He can hang the stars in the heavens, He can make us one with those who most offend us. If He can speak the cosmos into existence, He can help us love those who think, speak, spend, and vote differently than we do. If He can reconcile the world to Himself, He can indeed reconcile us to one another! 

This type of unity is poetic and idealistic when spoken about in the abstract. But it’s incredibly difficult—even dangerous—to attain. 

The real work of reconciliation requires us to become uncomfortable, forgive readily, and allow our most deeply held convictions to be challenged. It requires us to humble ourselves before those we’ve labeled as “enemies,” remembering that we need the cross just as much as they do. 

Fighting for unity is never easy. It’s an uphill battle. But it is not impossible, because the Spirit of the Living God goes before us, working in and through us. 

So let’s get practical. How do we fight for unity? Jesus’ example provides us with a roadmap. We become one with our fellow believers through prayer and proximity. 

We must pray for unity, because the fruit of unity is indispensable. In today’s passage, Jesus says that if we stand unified, the world will know that God sent Him. He says that our unity has the potential to show all people that the Father loves them just as much as He loves the Son. 

When we stand united as Christ-followers, the Gospel message becomes visible. When we become one with those we disagree with, the Good News is preached. The unified church is incredibly compelling to those who are lost. The unified church makes God’s powerful, boundary-breaking, division-decimating love evident. 

As we pray for unity, we must pray also for our own hearts. We must pray that we would have God’s eyes to see those we dismiss and label as malicious or misinformed. We must pray that we can see them as neighbors, friends, and holy family members. 

The second way we can fight for unity is by drawing near to those we dislike and distrust the most. After all, people are hard to hate up close. Prejudice of every form is eradicated by proximity. 

Let’s be honest: We tend to dehumanize our enemies. We often reduce them to one-dimensional characters. We imagine that they wake up each morning, hell-bent on destroying lives and belittling others. 

But those we label as “enemy” have families. Jobs. Hobbies. And, to our shock and disbelief, many of them genuinely care deeply for Christ and their communities. They are people, not conglomerates of discriminatory beliefs. 

We must create spaces where we can share meals, stories, and laughter with those across the political aisle. We need to worship with them, serve alongside them, and grow together. We need to gather together on a regular basis and learn how to view one another rightly: as God’s beloved children.

This is what the church looks like at its best. This kind of radical unity is what makes God’s Kingdom other-worldly. When we stand hand in hand with our brothers and sisters in Christ—regardless of how they vote—heaven touches earth.  

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read. 

• Are there individuals or groups of people within the church that you struggle to love? How might you pray for deeper unity with them? In what ways could you create space to know them and listen to their stories—without trying to “fix” or change them?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying: 

Almighty God, You and the Son are held together in perfect unity. You want nothing more than for us to know the same kind of oneness that You experience with each other. Lord, despite our doubt and cynicism, make us one with our brothers and sisters in faith. Let us see one another through Your loving eyes. Let us take the time to intentionally listen and grow in understanding one another. Let our fellowship with one another transcend every boundary created by class, race, and political affiliation. We love You, and we trust that Your mighty power is enough to bind us to one another. Amen.

Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.