When I first read it and really thought about it, I was sad and I was hopeful. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
Jesus prayed for something I had never thought of Christians being – one. I asked a preacher about it. I looked for information on it. How could the church be one? There are so many different denominations, faiths, followers, and leaders. Paul admonished the Corinthians not to follow Peter, Paul, Apollos or anyone else but Jesus. That made sense to me, and gave me a certain sense of pride. After all, I was raised in the Church of Christ, not the church of Francis or Martin or John the Baptist (until the day she died, my mom was convinced that Baptists worshiped John the Baptist).
The answer for the Church of Christ, at least in the era and congregation of my raising, was that there is, indeed, only one church, and it is the church of Christ. Everyone else had doctrine or practice wrong, I was taught, and therefore was not part of the church of Christ. They were not real Christians.
Since then, my eyes have opened to the idea that my church, your church, even that other guy’s church – we all have something or other wrong. Not only that, but I believe that with most of those errors, like any of our sins, God the Merciful is going to save us anyway.
So what do we do with all of the name-calling – the Baptists, the Anabaptists, the Catholics, the Orthodox, the Christians, the Disciples, the Assemblies, the Pentecostals, the Methodists, the – well, you get the idea. We have so clearly divided ourselves by name and practice, by doctrine and by belief. Some do this, some do that, and some play with snakes (which I do think is weird), each basing their beliefs on the same set of holy scriptures. With all of this division, can there ever be unity?
I really wrestled with this idea. I mean, sure, sometimes my prayers didn’t get answered the way I wanted. But I’m me. This was Jesus’ prayer, and from my understanding, He has more of an in than I do. Sure God might give me a different answer than I expect, but this is His Son, who is One with Himself, and really ought to understand what He’s praying for.
What if Jesus’ prayer has been answered with, “Yes?” What if we are one, despite the name-calling? What if, regardless of our perceived divisions, in Christ, we are, in fact, one? What if I am eternally and spiritually joined to John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, and an (gasp!) Anglican? What if my soul is one with Christ and with Francis of Assisi?
What if being one is something, not to seek, but instead to recognize?
What if, just what if, Jesus wasn’t praying out of wishful thinking, but instead was proclaiming that we followers of Christ really are one entity working to make this world a better place? How would that change the way we interact with believers who claim a different creed, but also claim the same Christ? Think about it – we ARE one, even if we try to divide ourselves.
I can say for a fact that this attitude has changed my life. I no longer try to convert Baptists or Methodists. I try now (though I fail) to be Jesus to everyone.
NOTE: I’m not talking about Universalism here. Jesus talked more about Hell than anyone in the Bible, and I’m pretty sure some people are going there.
Gratitude Check 