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Key Bible Verse: "I pray also that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me" (John 17:21). Bonus Reading: John 17:21-23

In effect, Jesus said, "The world will be won not through the wisdom of our words, but through the witness of our oneness." Our best hope for convincing the world that he was no ordinary human being is our unity. For only then do we accurately reflect the inner nature of God—a nature in which the diversity of Father, Son, and Spirit coexist in perfect complementarity.

What would happen if we focused less on the church's shortcomings and more on its wondrous possibilities? Suppose we kept constantly aware that the way we relate to our fellow believers is the primary proof of God's presence in Jesus Christ. (If, after all, God's power can't change your prejudices and mine, can persons outside the Christian faith really expect him to change their lives?)

Perhaps then the world would see that despite its many failures, the church is a wondrous miracle. It is loving and forgiving, laughing and weeping, worshiping and seeking God in the midst of this motley multitude of sinners and saints.

—Timothy Paul Jones in Prayers Jesus Prayed

My Response: A member of God's family that I've laughed or wept with during the last week is ____.

Thought to Apply: The best place to start building unity in the church is to start working with a team of diverse people who are united by their common faith in Christ and their mission. —G. Walter Hansen (seminary professor)

Adapted from Prayers Jesus Prayed (Regal, 2002) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to realize that other Christians really are my brothers and to treat them as family.

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