Win-Win

Win-Win

John 17:11 (NASB)

11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”

    Most young children eventually encounter the “heads I win, tails you lose” trick. It’s a lose-lose situation, a coin-flip that can only benefit one party—and it’s not them! Eventually, they learn that the best kind of negotiation is one in which everyone benefits: a win-win situation for all.

    Christ’s final prayer for His followers would result in a win-win for all involved. First, He asked the Father to protect His disciples from the world in which He was about to leave them. He asked that they might “be one as We are [one].” Surely, Church unity would be a win for believers: peace, harmony, love, and fellowship.

    But secondly, the unity of the Church would be a benefit for the world that would be antagonistic toward the Church. Christ said that through the demonstration of their loving unity, the Church would cause the world to see the character of the Savior who came to save the world—a win-win, for the Church and the world.

    Do all you can to be part of God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer. Do all you can to strengthen the unity of the Body of Christ.

R. B. Kuiper “Unity is the essence of the body of Christ.”