John 17:24-26 NIV
24 “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.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
“By the end of [John] chapter 17 we know that this love of God for the world comprises the whole movement of God’s love that begins in the mutual loving communion of the Father and the Son, entails the Son’s mission to include humans in that divine love, creates the loving community of disciples of Jesus, and thereby reaches the world. Disciples are not explicitly told to love the world, but they are caught up in that movement of God’s love that has nothing less than the world as its goal.” [Gospel of Glory by Richard Bauckham, p. 41]
The community of God’s people is formed in the unity and mission of the Triune God. Jesus makes it clear that the Father desires to pour his love into the church in such a way that the world will recognize the divine presence in the church.
Today, let’s pray, “Lord, pour your love over your church today. May your love also pour into my life so that others may see you at work in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Today, let’s worship the Lord by singing “This Is How We Know” by Matt Redman (click here).
– NB