“I pray… that all of them may be one…”

An article I wrote for the local newspaper

Just before Jesus died he prayed for you and me, saying, “I pray also for those who will believe in me…, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Jn 17:20-21

The ability to “be one” has eluded Christians in all generations.
Unity, as defined by Webster is:
1) the state of being one; oneness; singleness; being united.
2) something being complete in itself.

Perhaps unity has eluded us because the focus was on unity of understanding and scriptural interpretation, the first definition. The second definition, “something being complete in itself” recalls Paul’s illustration in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30. To describe the church he used a physical body, something complete in itself. This unit is the called out body of Christ that transcends time and space and, now, denominational affiliation.

Every whole physical body has a left side and a right side as does the body of Christ. (The liberal left and conservative right, perhaps?) In the human body the left and right hand are similar, equally valuable, but not the same.

Why can’t it be so in the body of Christ? We are united in Christ—not because we agree on an interpretation of scripture, not because we hold the same political views, but because we have devoted ourselves to the same risen Lord. When our two hands come together with palms facing, we are in a posture of prayer. May it be so in the body of Christ.