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.​ (John 17:22-23 NIV)

In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done".

The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. ​

​"That they may be one, as we are one". The life that is in Jesus is in us. The relationship Jesus has with his Father is imparted to us, we can have the same intimate relationship, with the Father, that Jesus had. 

When Jesus prays that we may be one, we often think that he is talking about our relationships with one another. I believe that is correct. But as I've meditated on this verse, I wonder if there is another interpretation or meaning to Jesus' words. What about us being one with him in the same way that Jesus is one with him?

Having prayed that we may be one he then expresses his desire for us to be involved, or to live in, the unity of the Trinity. He really wants us to know that we are in him as much as he is in us. It is a profound description of unity and intimacy. This is not a distant relationship, but the closest of Father-Son relationships and we are invited to participate. 

As Jesus accounts to his Father for the things he has accomplished, he is clear that we have been enabled to live like the Trinity live. A life of intimacy and unity is one of rest and peace. It is a fulfilled life. ​

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. (John 17:14 NIV)

In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done".

The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. ​

​"I have given them your word". It must have been an amazing sight when Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth. He was basically reading about himself and having done so he simply sat down. He did not need to preach a sermon or try and explain what he'd read. He just said "today this is fulfilled". Simple, yet powerful. He was the Word of God, reading the Word of God about the Word of God. 

Jesus said the words he spoke were not his own words but they came from his Father (John 12:49). He was a true ambassador, speaking on behalf of another. If we are to know the Father, we have to understand this. Everything Jesus said was, in effect, his Father speaking. The words we have recorded in the gospels are the words of the Father, spoken to us through Jesus. 

In coming to earth, Jesus became the Word of God made flesh, coming as a man, becoming the Father's mouthpiece. The words he spoke give us the gift of life and that life is meant to be full or abundant. It is total and complete, not a half measure. There was a time when the crowds were all deserting Jesus and he asks his disciples if they, too, will leave him. Peter replies: "Where else can we go, you have the words of eternal life".

We have a Father who is always ready to speak to us with words that will bring life, his words will change our lives. Do we have ears that are listening to the Father's voice? He is speaking to each one of us.

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. (John 17:6 NIV)

In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done".

The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. 

"I have revealed you", a number of other translations say "I have revealed your name". This is much more than a formal introduction of one person to another. Jesus is saying that he has revealed the complete personality, nature and character of his Father. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. Throughout his life, Jesus has shown us exactly what the Father is like. Indeed, at the end of this chapter we read that Jesus goes on revealing the Father. 

Moses caught a glimpse of what God was like but we see the complete picture of who he is. Jesus healed people, the Father heals. Jesus cared for the marginalised in society, the Father cares for them too. Jesus valued and affirmed people, the Father does too. Jesus provided for people, our Father is a provider. 

Too often, we try and form a picture of what God is like by taking historical or stereotypical images and thinking they are a good picture of God. Why do we do that when we have the life and example of Jesus who was the exact image of the Father?

In Matthew 11:25-27 we are told that we can know the Father, Jesus will reveal him to us. No longer is the Father hidden, he has clearly made himself known to us.

For too long we have thought of God as being distant, angry and unknowable. This is not the case. He is our loving Father and he wants to be a Father to you.

When Moses asked to see the Lord's glory he had a revelation of the nature and character of God. The Psalmist summarises it for us:

Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. (Psalm 103: 2-5,8 NIV)

Sometimes, it can be very good for us to go to these familiar scriptures and remind ourselves of who God is and what he is able to do for us. I read a book, many years ago, called "Praying the Scriptures" which encouraged us to take a familiar passage and then begin to pray through it and call it into being in our own lives. It's a very helpful thing for us to do. What does scripture say and what is it saying to us, today. 

It's all too easy to lose sight of the goodness of the Lord, particularly when we are weighed down with burdens and the cares of life. They easily overwhelm us and we take our eyes off him. Like Peter, as he began to walk on water, when we take our eyes off him we begin to sink. 

Today, in whatever you are facing can I encourage you to take hold of the steadfast love of the Lord. It's a love that never lets us go, it never fails us and it always lifts us up as we feel we are sinking. 

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children (Ps 103:17)

As we look around we see so many people in need, displaced in human suffering. May we never become immune to the poor, after all when we look into our own heart we, too, are poor and needy. 

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. (Galatians 2:10)
​The poor you will always have with you (Matthew 26:11)
Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. (Psalm 86:1)

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the poverty in the world and we ask ourselves what can we do that will make a difference. Particularly at the moment there are millions of people in real need or who are suffering deeply. The needs are huge and almost impossible to satisfy. Yet at times of natural or man-made disaster I am always amazed at the generosity of others. Those, often with little themselves, reach out to help others in greater need, 

Let us not forget the poor. They are all around us: in our streets, in our communities, looking for us to be their safe haven. How can we reach out to help them? 

After all, let us never forget that we, too, are poor and needy. Love reached down and rescued us, it redeemed us and brought us home.

It's all too easy for us to love with conditions! We love and want something back or we will only love once certain previous offences have been dealt with. That's not the way we are loved by the Father.

Love does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13: 5-6 NIV)

There is no score sheet so far as the Father is concerned. There is no notebook with a list of all the wrongs we've committed or all the things we've left undone. It's a clean sheet. 

When we keep a list of offences (whether in our mind or written down) it's easy to come back and dwell on them. That can lead to bitterness or anger which festers in us, only producing bad fruit. 

The Father's love constantly looks outward: it looks at us, sees the good in us and draws us into the truth. It's that truth which sets us free. It's the truth of our identity - that we are sons and daughters. As we are filled with this everlasting love we will be transformed and begin to reflect the love we have received. We can only be a loving people once we have become a loved people.

It's amazing to think that we are loved with an everlasting love. One that began before the creation of the world and one that will run through all of eternity.

“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favour in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:1-3 NIV)

What is this love like? In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gives us a glimpse of what the Father's love is like. Of course, when we read this we try and measure love by our human standards. We can't grasp love with our mind, we need to receive it in our heart. When we try and measure it we will inevitably limit it to the extent of our own understanding. It is, however, limitless.

His love is infinitely patient. Our humanity has limits, our patience runs out or is stretched (and we all have a limit beyond which we don't want to be stretched). He constantly perseveres for us as his love "always protects, always trusts and always hopes" (verse 7).

He can be infinitely patient because he is infinitely kind. Kindness is not an 'on the surface reaction' it has depth. It sees a need and is prepared to take action; it goes beyond false cheer as we have a loving Father who wants to bring change in our lives. Not a change that seeks to condemn but one seeking our good. Kindness will always seek to do something. 

Our Father is immeasurably kind as he draws us into a transformation whereby we are made more like his son, Jesus.

Isn't it wonderful when a friend helps you with a difficult project or walks through a tough season with you? We all need friends like that but imagine if that was something God was always doing for you.

Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” (Deuteronomy 1:29-31 NIV)

I find these verses very encouraging, particularly because they are written to a people in rebellion. The nation of Israel had been in captivity for a long time, they'd had a traumatic escape and then a forty year journey through the wilderness. A journey made much longer because of their persistent rebellion.

Of course, there were consequences for that rebellion. In these few sentences we read of the nature and personality of the One to whom all this rebellion had been against. For forty years he had provided their daily food, their clothes and shoes did not wear out, he provided warmth at night and guided them on the journey each and every day. What a comparison of faithfulness to ingratitude.

Despite the pride, rebellion and independence God truly had been a Father to his people. It is, however, God's tenderness and compassion that always strikes me. He has reached down, picked up his rebellious children and been the One who has carried them ALL the way. As he did for them so he will do for you. Whatever challenges you face today let him carry you, not only your burdens - but you.

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. These blessings, though, are not just for us in isolation. When pooled together we become a family. 

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:14-16 NIV)

This family is likened to a body where every part has a job to do and when working together, the body, or family, will work properly. 

No earthly family is perfect, we all have our squabbles and disagreements. Sometimes they can be bitter and divisive but mostly they are short-lived and harmony and peace is restored. When we live in love there is something in us that does not want to dwell on the disagreement. Instead we seek restoration and relationship. 

It's the same with our spiritual family, the church. Yes, there are times when we are 'blown here and there' but that does not have to be the end of the story. We are held together by love and as we discover the wide range of gifts and personalities that are amongst us, we truly become the family of God. A family that loves and cares for one another. 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:32-5:2 NIV)

Here's another promise! We can actually understand the vastness of God's love. 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV)

When I think of the love of God I think of something that is eternal, something that never runs out or gives up on me. I think of something that is tangible and with me every moment of every day. It's immeasurable. It has to be immeasurable or God becomes finite.

It's no wonder Paul prays that we would be strengthened through the Holy Spirit. We simply can't contain the fulness of God's love in our limited state.

May this be the cry of our heart. We want to know the presence of Christ living in us, we want to experience the increasing fulness of his love, we want to be filled with all the fulness of God (that's a lot of fulness). We don't understand it with our mind (that's too limiting) - we understand it with our heart. May this become your longing today!