Day 34 (Saturday, April 13, 2019)
Read
John 17:20-26
20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may 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 that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Reflect
During our travels through the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland many years ago, the magnificent peaks were hidden by heavy cloud. Then late one afternoon outside Interlaken, the cloud lifted, revealing the glorious sight of the snow-covered peak of the Jungfrau, aglow with the reflected glory of the setting sun.
One of the astonishing promises God makes is that all who have turned to Jesus Christ will one day be made glorious. Not only will the whole of the universe, the created order of heaven and earth be re-made perfectly reflecting God’s glory, but God’s people will also participate in it.
In the meantime God is preparing for that day by drawing men and women from all nations and peoples into a relationship of faith, hope and love with himself through Jesus Christ. This occurs through the declaration of his good news. God is committed to forgiving sin and changing lives by the action of his gospel of grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. His intention is that we might increasingly come to live lives of loyal obedience to him.
Key to all this is the Lord Jesus Christ, our rescuer from our self-centeredness. As people around us see the changes he brings to our lives they will see the reality of God at work.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, keep your household the Church continually in your true religion; so that those who lean only on the hope of your heavenly grace may always be defended by your mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Epiphany 5)
Daily Reading Plan
Read John 17:13-26
