[Faith-talk] Jesus's Prayer For Us by Danny Franks

[Paul Smith]

The author is the Connections Pastor at Summit Church, Raleigh-Duram, 
North Carolina.  If you like this piece check out his blog at
http://www.dfranks.com.

_Community.  What images does that word bring to mind? Is community 
your group of friends? Is it the people who live in your neighborhood? 
Perhaps you define your community as Christians you study the Bible 
with, strangers who populate an online forum, or a peer group that you 
lost touch with years ago.

Jesus had a crystal-clear picture of community.  He knew what it should 
look like, what it should feel like, and what it should produce.  In 
John 17 He prayed for the communities that would surround His 
disciples, both present and future.  Think about that:  on the night of 
Jesus's deep betrayal and abandonment by His closest friends, He prayed 
that you and I would eventually know deep friendship with others.

But that friendship--that _community--only comes by understanding the 
particular things Jesus prayed for us.  This list is by no means 
exhaustive, but as we read John 17, we see four key areas where Jesus 
interceded on our behalf:  Jesus prayed for our unity, our joy, our 
growth in truth, and our mission.

1.  And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I 
am coming to You.  Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have 
given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.  (v. 11).

Jesus prayed for our unity.  We live in an increasingly fractured 
society, don't we? Our communities are divided over politics, morality, 
and personal preferences.  And the church is often just as divided as 
the world around us.  But Jesus modeled oneness in His relationship 
with His Father, and He asked the Father to let unity be a defining 
mark of the church.  It's important to note that _unity doesn't mean 
_uniformity.  We will all think differently, engage our cultures 
differently, and bring our respective personalities to the mix.  But in 
our diversity, we can still be "kept" under the name of our Father and 
demonstrate love to the world around us.



2.  But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, 
that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves (v. 13)

Jesus prayed for our joy.  One of the greatest benefits of community is 
the encouragement that it brings.  The Christ-followers who surround me 
constantly point me back to Jesus.  When the pressures of life arise, I 
am prone to forget my identity and lose my way.  When I do, my 
believing friends are there to remind me who Jesus is and who He has 
declared me to be.  They remind me that my joy is found in relationship 
with my Creator, and my greatest hope can only be satisfied by Him.



3.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that You keep 
them from the evil one (v15).

Jesus prayed for our growth in truth.  Our Christian community has the 
unique ability to confront and correct us when we stray from the truth. 
John Calvin once said that a person's nature is a perpetual factory of 
idols.  In other words, we have no shortage of ways to walk away from 
what we know to be true.  When that happens, it is the role of our 
community to help us again fix our eyes on the gospel.  We challenge 
each other to stay committed to Jesus.  As brothers and sisters, we can 
lovingly, persuasively keep each other's feet fixed on the "narrow path."



4.  As You sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world (v. 18).

Jesus prayed for our mission.  Christians were never intended to huddle 
solely with other Christians.  We were never meant to shut ourselves 
off from the outside world.  No, Jesus calls us to live _as a community 
_in the community (Matt. 28:18-20).  Our primary relationships (those 
with other believers) give weight and urgency to our other 
relationships (those with unbelieving friends).  We gather together to 
pray with and for one another, and then we go outside the church in 
order to serve, love, and invite others into a relationship with Jesus. 
True community always begets true community.

As you look at your life, is it marked by unity with others, the joy of 
salvation, growth in truth, and an urgency of mission? These things 
happen best when they happen with others, and when they are rooted 
deeply in the person of Jesus.  Community matters.  Jesus prayed it for 
you and for me.  Let's commit to live in unity, joy, truth, and on 
mission with each other today.

And there you have today's worthwhile piece of Christian literature, at 
least I hope you thought it worthwhile.

Don't forget that the undersigned will be away from his computer from 
approximately 1 PM eastern time today to maybe 5 PM eastern time on 
Saturday, but will resume the posts on Sunday, Lord willing.

Until then may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, 
individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  
Your Christian friend and brother, Paul