I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
John 17:22 and 23
BSB
Read John 17 in a modern translation BSB
Read the whole chapter (John 17)
Loved like Jesus
Earlier in this prayer Jesus asked for unity. Now he says what the world should see in it. Not only that the Father sent him. Also something you hardly dare believe: that the Father loves his disciples as he loves Jesus.
Not a different, lesser love, but the same. That is huge, and for many people hard to believe. You can't prove it with fine words. The world sees it in people who stay together while they differ from each other.
Question for today
Do I really believe that God loves me just as much as his own Son?
Prayer
Father, you love me as you love Jesus. I can hardly take it in. Let it show in how I treat those who are different from me. Amen.
My prayer
With your own thought · only on this deviceOne of the 491 words of Jesus on this site, from the temple to Revelation. See all the words in order →