Jesus prayed for you, "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23). 

His desire is “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” His prayer is that we would have unity with each other and with God. “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.” 

Our world is full of divisiveness and competition; American culture screams it. You can see the divisions in every area of life. The proof can be found in ten minutes of social media or the evening news. 

The Dust Bowl that plagued the southwest in the 1920-1930’s had this crazy thing happen. The drought caused all the vegetation to die and then the ground got so dry it actually cracked open. It split apart from lack of water. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is often referred to as water. The answer to division is the Holy Spirit. 

Our life in Christ is made full by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in us and through us. He softens our dry, broken hearts and heals us through the washing of words, the Bible and God's Rhema words in our life. 

When we allow the Holy Spirit to love us, we have the capacity to love others. The more of God’s love we experience, the more fruit grows in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control bring unity to relationships (Gal. 5:22-23).

We are in our summer series on the Fruits of the Spirit. I encourage you to spend some time pursuing the Holy Spirit. Desire to become more unified with God through the Holy Spirit’s presence. In this way, we can fulfill Jesus’ desire for us to become one with Him and in turn become one with others. 

This unity is to be a beacon to the world around us. “May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Unity is the way that the Gospel spreads.