John 17 - Freedom and Responsibility - Aiming for Perfect Unity
All the rage these days (finally!) is governance reform. We have Elon Musk, who was looking for something to do with his time, tasked with DOGE. Good. Let's all do it. Let's joyfully look to improve and reform if necessary our families, finances, churches, hospitals, businesses, and schools.
It is time to assess if we’ve drifted off the mission God has given us and to do all we can do to get focused on Him and His ends. There will be disagreement on how best to get focused. We may not be in charge of the Pentagon or DOGE, but we are in charge of something. The Bible says this, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Likewise, God tells us that there will be a day of Jesus’ return. God says, “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds” (Revelation 22:12). That should get our attention. As we prepare to worship God this Sunday morning let's do so with great joy and anticipation of what God is doing among us. Amazing, wonderful things! Let's be focused on our mission from God and prioritize our lives accordingly.
In this amazing prayer of Jesus, we hear His prayer not only for the disciples but for us too - for anyone who hears the message of God’s grace (17:20). Amazingly, God prays His protection over us and He prays for us to experience perfect unity. Perfect unity! Wow. As we look around sure we can see great ecumenical efforts and the Kingdom's advancing progress and I even sense great revival. But perfect unity?
As a corporate attorney, I have spent my career solving problems and helping businesses achieve their growth goals. My aim has always been to prevent disputes and to promote well-functioning organizations through successful transactions. But that said, the reality is people love to fight. Christians love to fight. Let's not kid ourselves. It's long past time to stop sweeping things under the rug.
Contrition and repentance always preceded growth. We have major dysfunction I contend not because of God’s lack of desire for us to be unified, but because of our lack of fear of God and our disobedience to His way. God wants us to receive the crown of life that He promises to those who love and follow Him. God wants us to succeed. He is with us not against us!
But to be successful we have to do things not just “efficiently” but “godly.” Back to the basics, good governance reform means getting back to the common sense and righteousness of God’s way. I’ll keep it brief. But let me give you a few thoughts on what I mean.
Every family wants to be well functioning, in unity, and with harmony. But do you know of any families with dysfunction? Any kids that dishonor their parents or siblings that fight? Any parents who put their interests ahead of their families - failing to forgive and stingy with time and resources?
The mark of any good leader is selfless obedience to Christ first. That comes from the decision to take responsibility. Often God forges that determination through trials testing and tough times. The pressure cooker produces stress but it leaves an undeniable mark on our psyche.
Some men fail to grow up and they shipwreck their faith by failing to learn from God’s grace and the lessons of life. Instead, they let sin grow and justify a path that is not godly with rational arguments about aiming for happiness and practicalities and other nonsense as their wake is filled with despair, unfulfilled potential, and broken promises.
The good news is that God is slow to anger. And He’s good, really good. Jesus really does want us to succeed. So yes, we aim to teach our kids well. The responsibility to parent well and raise up good godly men and women rests on each of us. For each of us must stand before God as the Scriptures make plain.
But personal responsibility does not mean we go it alone. This a great time for Christian organizations to ask like Jethro did when he went into the wilderness to meet Moses, “What are you really accomplishing here?” (Exodus 18:14). Great question. As Drucker always asked teams: What’s our business? And, how’s business?
John 17 reminds us that Jesus has authority over everyone now. And we bring glory to God when we complete the work He has given us to do. As parents and also as business leaders, we are forging character and preparing others for work - godly work. And like Moses, we must be open to learning. We must hear from God and then put our faith into action. We show our kids and grandkids how to love and lead well. We are exemplifying Christian unity and community. It’s always done together. To and with one another. We honor God together and someday God willing God promises we will Share God’s presence and grace in His eternal home.
For now, we are in this world. Yes, we continue to have dysfunction and division because we have our human natures and evil that entices us and drags us away from God. We do have enemies, those who seek to destroy us and for our organizations to fail. Knowing that is important. But Jesus prays for our protection. His power is much greater than the world - in fact, He has already overcome the world. We are guarded by God Himself. God keeps us safe. It is God to whom we rightly put our trust and the trust in the eternal safety of our families.
Efficiency is a good thing. We can do things better and produce great results for the Kingdom of God. Christians and Christian nations have a massive advantage. We have a secret weapon far more powerful than nuclear missiles - we have God’s word. It nourishes, guards, and explains. We are alive in Christ and by His grace we learn through His word. We are made holy by God’s truth. The church grows by the passing of God’s message. It’s the message that God so loves all people. He does not want any man or woman to perish, but for all to believe in Jesus. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” But if we truly care about the Kingdom, ought not we too be concerned about good governance and efficiency. We must be.
God’s business is not that of the one-man band. Yet how many of our organizations have budgets tilted way too heavily on G&A expenses with too few doing too much to the benefit of none. God’s worldwide church is led by Jesus in His glorious way.
As Jethro said to Moses when he saw Moses trying to do it all and wearing himself out he said “This is not good!” (Exodus 18:17). God’s way is for us to know God and His Son. We are to know God’s word and see from the behavior of godly leaders how to live honorably and work hard. But the work and the responsibility must be shared.
God makes plain His standards for Christian leadership in First Timothy and in Titus - and from cover to cover in His word. The problem is not a lack of information about God’s way. It is our failure as leaders to honor and fear and follow God. It is us failing to obey His way. As Jethro explains to Moses we must select from our people leaders based on their character and capabilities. Likewise, Peter tells all of us that we are to use our Christian freedom for God’s purposes rather than our own - that is the privilege and responsibility of every Christian. Freedom and responsibility; that is what we must teach our children and exercise and exemplify ourselves (1 Peter 2:15-17).
Yes, you may only be responsible for a small number of people. Maybe only ten. Others fifty, one hundred, or one thousand. But each must have godly character and be known for being capable, honest men who fear God and hate dishonest gain (Exodus 18:21). If your organization does not look like that then make it look like that. It is time for the church to take responsibility and use her freedom worldwide.
We aim to glorify God and we strive for perfect unity. We are to help each other carry the load, solve problems and disputes, and to build. When we fail to work as a team we show horrible arrogance and disobedience to God. But like Moses, when we listen well and accept godly advice our families, communities, businesses, and nations will thrive - and flourish for Jesus.
Thank You, Jesus, for this amazing time of revival and for His grace as we strive to use our freedom for God’s mission to go and make disciples. Amen.
Comments