I was momentarily thrown for a loop yesterday (at the end of the day), when I discovered that my blog was not posted. I will try to recreate it here, because I really value what it said:
One of my fav verses is easily Hebrews 4:14-16:
"Therefore, since we have a great High Priest, Who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
In John 17, we find Jesus showing us by example of how great a high priest He is. He is about to face a sleepless night, with beatings, torture, mockery, and an eventual death on a cross. Luke 22 shows us some additional perspective of what He prayed. He asked God for a "plan B," but surrendered to the lordship of His Father. Then He prayed what is sometimes called the "High Priestly Prayer." It's cool that we have its text:
"...I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours...Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name -- the Name You gave Me -- so that they may be one as we are one...
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me...May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me."
You know that this time was an intensely stressful one for Jesus. He actually sweat drops of blood, which modern medical experts should be able to comment on. Whatever he prayed at this time should be of utmost importance. It's like a general's "last marching orders" before he leaves. And so what message did He give us by His prayer?
He wants us to be one. We shouldn't let petty things like doctrinal differences divide us. Not ONE of us has all of our doctrine correct, so fighting over doctrine is just plain silly. Sure, there are "essential" dosctrines that people should agree on to call themselves Christian. The most obvious would be that Jesus is the Son of God, and that reconciliation with God and the forgiveness of sin comes through believing in Him. Even rather important doctrines underneath those could be set aside in favor of unity. All of us are different, but our Leader wants us to be one.
Amen.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at November 12, 2005 11:45 AM