Good morning…
On our behalf, Jesus continues praying to his Father. “I gave them your word. The godless world hated them because of it, because they didn’t join the world’s ways, just as I didn’t join the world’s ways. I’m not asking that you take them out of the world but that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world than I am defined by the world.” We all know that the ways of the world run counter to the ways of God, so again Jesus asks his Father to guard us as we pursue a “ONE with God” life, sharing divine love on earth as it is freely shared in heaven.
Next Jesus asks his Father to do something I do not really understand. “Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth. Your word is consecrating truth.” What does it mean for us to be made “holy” with truth? What does it mean for us to be “consecrated” by the word of God? I research to learn that “holy” and “consecrated” mean the same thing. As we are shaped by the truth of God’s living word, we gradually become more and more “devoted, dedicated in service to God.”
Jesus continues his personal prayer for us. “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I’m consecrating myself for their sakes so they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission” (John 17:16-19, MSG). The risen Christ, now sitting at the right hand of God our Father in heaven, devotes himself to prayer for you and for me as we grow more and more dedicated to our God-given mission, daily living by heavenly tenets on this hurting earth.
…Sue…
