Maybe human observation isn’t the criteria for oneness

With betrayal, arrest, rejection, mockery and a brutal execution around the corner, Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and prayed a three-point prayer; for himself, his disciples, and for future believers like you and me.

In that last part, Jesus prayed “that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23).

Is there a chance in today’s mixed-up religious world for this unity to come about? We see so many Christian denominations and non-denominations with a bitter record of divisive bickering. So, did Jesus pray for the impossible? I don’t think so.

I realize Christians don’t look so united to human eyes. But maybe human observation is not the true criteria for real oneness. You see, Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep know him. All the bickering in the world does not change that. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)

Humans complicate this to no end but the fact remains that no religious authoritarian or critic can slice and dice up Jesus’ true flock. They can abuse their power or build walls to keep undesirables out, but that has nothing to do with the one actual body of Christ.

Jesus spoke of his sheep hearing his voice; and becoming “one flock with one shepherd.” (John 10:16). He meant that. Your status in Jesus’ flock hinges on what you do with Jesus, not with what other men do to you. I served faithfully for 12 years at a church only to retire and then be maliciously banned from their facility by hard-line authoritarians. Just as Jesus faced false accusations, so did I. But none of that alters the Good Shepherd’s flock. When authoritarians presume to overrule Jesus, that is their own delusion. Rogue “elders” can push people around in their own little realms but they have zero authority in the Lord’s realm — the kingdom of God.

Christian unity is rooted in Jesus’ authority as the head of his church, not in the presumed authority of office-holders drunk on power. Happily, I now serve with awesome elders. Best of all, the labels and terms humans toss around can neither create nor destroy the oneness that Jesus prayed for and established as the author of our forgiveness.

If you are in Christ, you belong to him. Human wall-builders and soul-inspectors can do a lot of hurt but they cannot separate you from Jesus. The apostle Paul was convinced that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

Our inability to perceive unity among Jesus’ genuine followers does not mean that Jesus’ prayer went unanswered.

Solliday lives in Lewiston and has served as the interim pastor at the Pomeroy Christian Church at 310 Eighth Street in Pomeroy, where he and his wife remain as members.