John 17:22-23
Many years ago in our previous church one of the members gave me a small cutting from one of her plants. It was a “Purple Passion,” a vining houseplant of reddish purple that I find quite nice to look at. It is an easy plant to share. If you clip a small bit of a stem and set it in a cup of water for two weeks it will start a new root system and begin a new plant.
I have given clippings from this plant to other people, sharing the beauty of this deep purple houseplant. I give it to those for whom I care so they can enjoy it too.
As Jesus prayed the night he was arrested he spoke of the love he was sharing. What did Jesus give to his disciples? Why did he do this?
In his time on earth Jesus gathered a group of followers. He selected twelve men to be his disciples, those people he would teach and train to be able to preach and minister as he did. He also had a larger following of faithful people that probably numbered over one-hundred (see Luke 10:1 and Acts 1:15).
He didn’t gather these followers just to occupy their time or to ensure that he had company in what he did. He gathered these people so that he might give to them the gift of life that comes from God. He shared the glory and love of God with them.
In sharing this gift he was working to make them all one, united in love and grace under God. He wanted them to experience the new life that comes from the love of God. And through these followers we are invited to be one with God and one with all believers.
The gift of everlasting life, the gift of a new and dynamic life filled with the mercy and love of God awaits any of us who will accept the love from Christ. We must prepare ourselves for this tremendous gift, anxiously readying ourselves to receive the Lord’s bounty.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to prepare for God’s gift of life?
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