United in ChristSample

A Family in Christ

If you have ever put a jigsaw puzzle together, you know how important it is to have the picture of what it will look like when it’s done. That answer is usually given on the cover of the puzzle box. When Jesus told us to “strive first for the kingdom of God,” he gave us the picture of what that kingdom would look like when it comes. Let’s look at the picture the Lord gave us with His words and actions. 

When you address the Maker of heaven and earth—Who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient—Jesus says, "Use the words, 'Our Father.'” So begins the picture of a family. We are joined to Him as family. The rest of the prayer He gives to the apostles extends that relational theme among each member of that family. 

The kingdom of God, then, has everything to do with relationship. Relationship with God: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” Relationship with those around us: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Put your relationship with God and your relationship with your brothers and sisters in the first place, and you will be letting God’s will be done. And the kingdom of God will come. In the end, the glory of the coming kingdom is a unified family living on a restored earth. That is the meaning of Paul’s definition in his letter to the Romans: righteousness (right relationship), peace (the security that comes from being in right relationship), and joy (the eternal expression of God’s Kingdom). 

Jesus taught us to pray for the appearance of His kingdom on earth when He taught us how to pray (Matthew 6:6–9). He later asked that all who have experienced and continue to experience His grace and mercy, acknowledging Him as their Lord and Savior, be brought together into the unity of the triune God (see John 17:20-21). Understanding this is not merely an intellectual pursuit. It is our calling as Christians. 

Reflect

As part of God’s family? Do you understand your call and role as an ambassador of God’s kingdom on earth, to reconcile men and women to God and to be reconciled with each other?

Consider

Jesus, who lives in us through the Holy Spirit, continues to proclaim and display His gospel through our unity. “God is making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus calls His apostles His friends and tells them that His Father is now their Father. Jesus implores us to be brothers and sisters of one another with one Father—to be a family. Only in this way will the world believe who He is. The kingdom of God is Jesus, with the whole Trinity, living in us and among us through our constant and enduring love for one another. We, as His followers, have been called to continue to proclaim that kingdom through our lives together. 

Join us in the hope-filled journey. Become initiators of friendship. Buy someone who isn’t in your particular tribe of Christianity a cup of coffee or ice cream. Hear their journey and pray that, as followers of Jesus, we might see each other not only through the eyes and hearts of siblings but through the eyes of the Father. 

Prayer

Father, help me to see, think, and feel for my brothers and sisters what you see, think, and feel for them. 

To experience Unity in Christ by learning more about the John 17 Movement, please visit https://www.newcitypress.com/john-17.html