This week’s suggested reading: John 17
This week’s question(s) to ponder: What are some “good works” God is calling you to do in this season of your life? Think of a relationship that (currently or previously) has been marked with division. What can you do to pursue unity in that relationship?
We glorify God by completing the good works he gave us to do.
In John 17:4, Jesus prays, “I glorified you (the Father) on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” Jesus glorified – magnified, honored – the Father partly by completing the work he gave Jesus to do. And likewise, we do the same.
Paul says something similar in his letter to the Ephesians. After detailing the absolute grace of God to us in the work and gift of Jesus Christ, he says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
God has good works for his children to walk in. He has things for us to individually do while we’re here on this earth. He has people for us to specifically love and situations for us to specifically impact. Your list of good works is going to be different from mine. Your calling will be different than mine. And that’s a beautiful thing to celebrate! God isn’t a cookie-cutter God. He accounts for our individual, unique design in the things he has for us to do. But we have to be careful not to get it twisted.
We don’t do the good works in order to earn salvation from the Father. We’re set free from the condemnation of a holy God fully and completely by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It’s faith in Christ’s work on the cross – where he died a brutal death for the sins of man, then defeated death 3 days later by rising from the grave – that we find our full forgiveness from the Father. That’s the grace gift.
But after we come to him by faith, he makes his home in us. God’s Spirit comes to dwell inside of us. And he then leads us to the “good works” he has for us to do while we’re still here on this planet. While we still have breath, we have good works to walk in.
The next question that naturally follows asks, “Well, what specific good works does God have for me to do?” The answer to that question takes much more space than what we have here. But to put it simply, knowing the specific good works God has for us to do on this earth flows out of a deepening relationship with him.
As we spend time with God – praying, reading his Word, confessing our sins, worshipping him, obeying what he says – we start to hear his voice more clearly. We start to know when the Spirit of God is prompting us to act. We may be inspired to do something, create something, give something, speak up about something – the list is endless. But the truth remains…
If we have breath in us, our Father still has good works for his children to do – things he has set apart specifically for our life, our relationships, our influence, and our situation.
Escaping the world isn't the answer.
In John 17:14-15 Jesus prays, “14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus didn’t ask the Father to take his followers out of the world, even in the face of hate or persecution. He asked the Father to “keep them from the evil one.”
That word “keep” means “to guard from injury or loss, by keeping an eye upon.” (Strong’s, G5083) Jesus asks the Father to keep an eye on his followers in order to guard from loss or injury. And by Jesus asking the Father to keep us, we can trust that he will!
This reminds me of the time when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in Matthew 6. “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'” (Matthew 6:10-13)
Jesus didn’t ask the Father to remove his people from the earth. He actually asked the opposite. He taught us to ask for God’s kingdom and will to come down to earth as it is in heaven. He taught us to ask the Father to deliver us from evil while we’re walking about on this planet.
I often hear people say things like, “I can’t wait for God to take us out of this evil world!” And though I totally understand the sentiment, that’s the opposite of what Christ taught us. We’re empowered in Jesus to be light on this dark planet. We’re called to show love to a world desperate for hope. We’re commissioned to share the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. We have a Father who keeps an eye on his children, even in a place where evil exists. And we’re taught to pray for God’s kingdom to come to earth.
Escape – though that sounds lovely given the state of the world – actually isn’t the solution to the suffering found here. The answer to the pain of this world is the love of God displayed in the finished work of Christ, lived out through the lives of his people.
Unity reflects God.
In John 17:20-23 we see the theme of “oneness” emphasized. “20 I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may 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 to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
A few things to note. First, though Jesus is praying for his disciples, we learn that he’s also praying for you and me. (v. 20) That means that the things he prays in this high priestly prayer (as it’s referred to), apply to us as well as to his first century disciples!
Second, we see that unity with other believers reflects the oneness of the Father and the Son. In contrast, discord, division, and strife between believers does not reflect God. We see this concept of oneness and unity taught all throughout Scripture. But Paul warns us clearly in his letter to the church at Corinth, “10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)
In a world that’s extremely divided, sadly we also see so much division even among Jesus followers. Yes, we as Christ followers need to humbly and boldly address false teaching when we hear it. (Galatians 1:6-9) Yes, we’re told to test the spirits (1 John 4:1-4). Yes, we’re warned to beware of false prophets. (Matthew 7:15-20) Those are all true things. But often it’s not the major theological issues that divide us; it’s the preferences and fleshly desires that strip away our oneness. And that’s not ok.
Disunity isn’t ok for one main reason: it doesn’t reflect God. And the ultimate reason we want to reflect God rightly on this earth is so that the world may believe in Jesus! (See John 17:21, 23)
If we find ourselves in a situation with another believer marked by discord and division, then I pray we see it as an invitation from God to pursue unity. Pursuing unity begins by getting alone with God, asking for wisdom in the divisive situation. If we’re willing to hear, he will show us our own role in the conflict – convicting us of our own sin – and lead us to forgive the other person for the role they’ve played in the conflict. After gaining clarity through prayer, he may lead us to communicate directly with the other person in humility and love in efforts to restore unity. (See Matthew 18:15-17)
Healing a divisive situation takes time and wisdom as relationships can be really messy. But we cannot deny, unity with others reflects the Father. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18)
Disclaimer: Words in Red is a devotional blog series created for personal reflection and spiritual encouragement. All writing is original and created solely by the author, Lara Howard—AI was not used in the development of this content. All content in this series is copyrighted and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without written permission. © Think True Things
