Make Us One

“That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:21

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The congregation of Kapahulu Bible Church (KBC) has been invited to take part in a 31-day prayer journey following the outline of Niko Peele and Jonathan Graf in their book “Make Us One.” KBC leadership’s desire is that we would experience the oneness that Jesus prayed for in John chapter 17. The next several blog entries will be reflections on our January 2021 journey. 

The first two days of “Make Us One” laid a good foundation of a value we all should share as followers of Christ—HUMILITY. There is no advancement in spiritual maturity without this personal attribute. This characteristic is what enables God to take away the imperfections found in our being—which go against who He is and who He has made known in His Son. 

As I took the foundation of HUMILITY into Day 3’s entry—Search Me, Help Me, Teach Me—I was challenged by the call to oneness of Sandra Higley’s statement, “When one of us offends, all are guilty; when one of us is hurt, all of us hurt. Because we have believed in your Son’s work on the cross, we are your children—brothers and sisters and joint-heirs with Christ, our brother.” The rest of her entry is about BEING like the Father and the Son. 

As I meditated on the implications of being like the Father, I thought about what must have been His pain as His only Son went to the cross. The LOVE we have for our brothers and sisters should evoke a similar hurt at their injury. As I considered the lengths that the sinless Son of God went to so that we could be forgiven, I was reminded of the expectation for us to grow to a spiritual maturity level just as Jesus is mature (Eph. 4:13).

The thoughts of days 1–3 helped me face the challenge of today’s entry—Move Me Closer. As Dexter Sullivan outlined the suggested prayers of confessions, I struggled with the temptation that I know is there for some: 

“This is not describing me; I personally don’t need to pray these confessions.” 

But we need to remember, loving like the Father should cause us pain when our brothers and sisters experience prejudice. We can’t forget that owning the sins of others is an appropriate response of a Christ-follower whose measure of maturity is like Jesus. Whether or not a Christ-follower “feels" they are guilty of the sins of prejudice, the prayers of confession in this entry should be prayed in genuine humility in order for the Church to experience the oneness Jesus was describing in John 17. 

God’s love for humanity prompted His involvement in our life’s greatest dilemma. Jesus’s innocence did not stop Him from owning our sin so that we could be free. Our love for those who have experienced and faced prejudice should propel us to stand with them in their persecution and pray prayers of confession as we represent those who have acted so ungodly.

Can there be ONENESS any other way?