He prays for unity and oneness and 17:11.
He prays for protection from evil in John 17:15.
Lastly, he prays sanctity and holiness in John 17:17.
Harmony is important because it makes the church a positive example to the world and helps draw others to the Lord, it renews and revitalizes his ministry, because there is less tension to sap our energy.
Living in harmony does not mean we will agree on everything; but we must agree on our purpose in life which is to work together for God. Our outward expression of unity will reflect our inward unity of purpose.
So, from the outside looking in, would you say that the church is in perfect harmony and unified by a sole purpose? That purpose, of course, being to glorify Jesus with our lives?
Well, if you don’t see much of it, pause for reflection. Since Jesus is praying this for us, it just seems rather negligent on his soldiers part to not remedy the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible.
God has a lot to say about unity in the Bible because it’s like super important.
