More Beautiful Than You Can Imagine
John 17 is one massive prayer. It’s Jesus praying just before he’s arrested and crucified. He starts out praying for himself as he’s about to die, then he prays for his disciples, these guys who’ve been following him around for years now, and then he ends by praying for all believers—everyone who’s put their faith in Jesus. In verse 20: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” He prayed for all who would believe through their word. As Jesus’ disciples went out, sharing with everyone all over the world who Jesus is and this new life that everyone can have because of him, Jesus prays for everyone who would choose to give Jesus their life after they heard the good news. So that’s you, if you follow Jesus. That means that Jesus actually spent time praying for you. And look what he prayed: “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”
Catch what Jesus prays for us? The main theme of what Jesus wants God to do for his followers: Unity. Jesus prays that we would be one, unified. Jesus, God, became a man, lived and died, so that our relationships won’t stay the same; they’ll get better. And here’s the beautiful thing: Look at verse 21 again: “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.” Our new relationships show the world, prove to the world, that Jesus is God AND verse 23: “that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.” Our relationships display God’s love. Relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, dating couples, friends, acquaintances, relationships between people who drive each other crazy, those relationships mean so much as you follow Jesus. So much, that Jesus would spend time praying for our relationships right before he died for us.
Jesus is transforming all of our relationships to be so, so much more beautiful than we could have ever imagined. But he may do it by showing us some ways that our relationships are currently broken. It would be kind of him to do that; to allow us to confess, repent, and depend on Jesus to transform our relationships.
Whether it’s our friendships, our marriages, our relationship with God, or even our relationships with everyone around us that we don’t know yet, Jesus can transform those relationships to be unbelievably beautiful.
Listen to some ways that he can do it from Justin’s Sunday sermon: Resurrected Relationships