17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

 Wow, to consider this prayer of Jesus Christ is amazing.  Here the Son of God in prayer is interceding on the behalf of all who would believe, to have a fellowship of unity like He has with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Have we ever even seen a glimpse of this in our lives. Even as a married man I come to the realization that at times I just have really awesome roommates who will put up with more from me than most.  There are days when I look at my family and feel no connectedness whatsoever, even though I know that they are more part of me than anyone else in this world (God aside).  So for Christ to pray in His own personal prayer for us to come to be one even as the Father, Holy Spirit, and Son are one is truly amazing.  As an organizer of community events I see so much disunity (not just with the other residents, but with myself as well).  So much of an attitude of taking advantage of others.  What if we were to even unite a small community?  How would that change the way you live on a day to day basis?  If you knew all your neighbors, and knew them well?  You could walk outside and say hello to everyone on your street or in your complex.  To me this is only a dream of what live could be.  We will never truly lay aside ourselves for one another.  But we see glimpses from time to time.  And that I will take.

 The second thing that I love of this passage is Christ's prayer for protection.  Christ asks the Father to keep those who have been given to Him.  So those who before the foundation of the world were elected to know the living God, are those who are sustained.  I have no answer to why I continue to believe in God some days.  There are times when I feel as though I am just blindly following Him.  There are times when I feel like I just want to stop following.  For a while fear gripped me more than anything.  What if I was condemned to hell for my betrayal of God?  But in time it has become more of a familial connection.  I would no sooner discard Christ than I would my family members, some of whom I have seen very little of in my life.  There is an ever present sense of Christ in me that I cannot shake.  There are times when I consider severing my ties, but in the end I remain in Him, and He in me.  I personally can only see this as a result of the perseverence He gives to those who believe.

Praise the Lord for His prayer.  I am grateful that Christ took the time to consider us in prayer.  How often do I pray for others because I know that God is considering my words, and here I see God praying to God for all who would beleive.  This truly shows the heart of my Lord and my God.  I am grateful that He cares and fills my life with a sense of value and worth that no one has ever been able to come close to providing.  Thank you Lord.