When we go to Alabama to see Maryanne’s family every summer, I often go to People’s Shoe Store. They sell Johnson and Murphy shoes at greatly reduced prices. The catch is that they sell their shoes “as is.” It’s a way to say that “these are damaged goods.” They sell Johnson and Murphy shoes that are slightly irregular or slightly used. They don’t tell you where the flaw is. You have to find it yourself. But you know it’s there. When you find the flaw, you can’t go running to the store whining about it.
One year, I bought a pair of shoes that I thought looked and felt were great. The only problem was that the soles kept coming off. I took them to a shoe repair shop and even they couldn’t get the soles to stay on.
There’s a fundamental rule when you buy from People’s Shoe Store. No returns. No refunds. No exchanges. If you were looking for perfection, you went to the wrong store. If you want the shoes, you must take them “as is.”
When you deal with human beings, you have some to the “as is” store of the universe. Think about someone in your life. Maybe the person you know the best and love the most. That person is “slightly irregular.” That person is flawed.
The sooner we accept and expect the fact that the people we live with are flawed, the better. Pastor John Ortberg says, “When we enter relationships with the illusion that people are normal, we resist the truth that they are not. We enter an endless attempt to fix them, control them, or pretend that they are what they are not. One of the great marks of maturity is to accept the fact that everybody comes ‘as is.’”
What is amazing is that Jesus desires that imperfect people be perfectly one. “Wait! I’m to be perfectly one with that imperfect husband who is so passive?” “Wait! I’m to be perfectly one with that imperfect wife who is so demanding?” “Wait! I’m to be perfectly one with those imperfect parents who are so angry?” “Wait! I’m to be perfectly one with that imperfect child who has developed such an attitude?” “Wait! I’m to be perfectly one with that imperfect Christian friend who is so wrong about so many things?”
In John 17 Jesus prays for us. He prays, “that they may become perfectly one.” I don’t think that He would have prayed this prayer if it were not possible. Think about your roughest relationships with people who are followers of Christ. It is possible for you to know a more perfect oneness than you now know.
Imperfect people; perfectly one
Text: John 17:23-24
Series: The defeat of friendly (and not-so-friendly) fire
Today, we are continuing this series: The defeat of friendly (and not-so-friendly) fire. Friendly fire is when a soldier is accidentally shot by one of his own soldiers.
On Saturday just two weeks ago, an Israeli soldier, Tom Dekel, was killed by mistaken fire from his own unit. He was sent on a mission to arrest Palestinian militants in a West Bank village. Other Israeli soldiers were already in the village fighting the Palestinians. The force already in the village mistook the newly called soldiers for militants and opened fire. Tom Dekel was killed by his friends.
Friendly fire is tragic when it happens on the battlefield. And it is tragic when it happens here at home – spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. It creates a sense of loneliness and hurt and confusion.
We know that friendly fire happens in marriages, in families, in businesses, in schools, and in churches virtually every day. I’m betting that you’ve been hit by friendly fire. It hurts, doesn’t it? We followers of Christ take spiritual, emotional, verbal, and theological potshots at each other all the time. It needs to stop.
Jesus was so passionate about seeing it stop, that He spent a good portion of the night before his death praying about the defeat of friendly fire. In verses 1-5, Jesus prays for Himself. In verses 6-19, He prays for the unity of His immediate followers. Finally, in verses 20-26, the Lord prays for all future followers. That means that He was praying for you and me – for imperfect people.
Jesus knew that we were formed for God’s family. He knew that one of God’s purposes for us was fellowship. That’s why He prayed that we would be
“perfectly one” (ESV). Imperfect people becoming perfectly one. That’s His heart. #13 The NIV puts it this way: “complete unity.” Another version calls it being “mature in this oneness.” Another version says it this way: “completely one.”
Last week, we focused on verses 20-22. We thought about…
… five questions to diagnose our commitment to build a community of unity
1. Do I bless the heart of Jesus?
I do not ask… John 17:20a (ESV)
We remembered that this was a prayer Jesus prayed just before He went to the cross. This as on His heart in a very passionate way. When we stay in step with one another, we bless His heart. When we don’t we break His heart.
2. Do I keep first things first?
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word… John 17:20 (ESV)
We emphasized that Jesus’ prayer teaches us that our unity has to be based on truth – that our unity be Christ-centered and Bible-based. Trying to have unity without holding to the truth is produces people who will stand for nothing and fall for anything. This prayer from Jesus about unity has to read in its full context. In verse 17, Jesus prays, “Sanctify them through Your truth; Your word is truth.”
So, we major on the major points. And we minor on the minor points. In essential things; unity. In non-essential things; liberty. In all things; charity.
3. Do I sense others’ closeness to Christ?
… that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us… John 17:21a (ESV)
We asked the question, “If that person that I’m at odds with is in the hand of Jesus and in the hand of the Father – so close to God – then how dare I be so distant?
4. Do I protect our witness?
… so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:21b (ESV)
We thought about the fact that people are watching us. What they need to see are relationships that are working, not unraveling.
5. Do I see glory on each face?
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are
one. John 17:22 (ESV)
Every believer has the glory of God in them. And if I see glory on your face, how can I walk away from fellowship with you?
Jesus continues with His prayer. He’s praying for imperfect people to be perfectly one.
I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.
Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:23-24 (ESV)
1. You and I… we have the same identity. v. 23
Why do we fire at each other since we have so much in common? In this prayer, Jesus teaches us about many things we have in common. Let me mention just two ways Jesus shows us our identity – two ways He shows us who we are.
Who are we?
We are imperfect people who are lived in.
I in them…
John 17:23a
Jesus is in me. Jesus is in you. How can I criticize someone who has just as much Jesus in them as I have in me?
Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God’s glory.
Colossians 1:27b (CEV)
We are imperfect people who are lived in.
We are imperfect people who are loved on.
You… loved them even as You loved Me.
John 17:23b
The Father loves me. The Father loves you. How can I judge someone who is loved by the Father just as much as the Father loves me?
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
Ephesians 2:4-5a (NLT)
We are imperfect people who are loved on.
One fact about the Trinity that we forget is this fact about community. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – three in one, three Persons in one community. Our relationships as followers of Christ ought to be a reflection of this community within the Trinity.
For many years, I have felt lonely. Not within the church or within my family, but within the ministry.
When we first started CVCC, I was called to a special meeting with other pastors in our association of churches. Some didn’t like the fact that we don’t have a traditional altar call like you might see at a Billy Graham Crusade. We also don’t have a denominational label on our church name. So, at the meeting, I had to defend our position. And some pastors literally withdrew fellowship from me and from our church. There are pastors in our state who have taken potshots in our state newspaper at how we do ministry here.
The lines continue to be drawn. I approach things from a reformed theological point of view, but some people in that camp look at us with suspicion because we might use a drama here or show video clips from movies. The leading edge, church growth leaders wonder why we like pastors like John Piper or Charles Spurgeon. Some would say, “Rick, you’re not charismatic enough. Loosen up. Be more Spirit-led.” Others would say, “Rick, your problems are organizational. You don’t have the right structure in place.”
I end up with this feeling that I don’t quite measure up. Now, I’m not whining about it. But I share this to let you know that I understand how some of you might be feeling. Other followers of Christ are making you feel like you don’t quite measure up – that you aren’t quite good enough.
God wants us to start thinking and acting this way, “Listen, if you don’t fit my mold, I want you to know that I still see Jesus in you. I still know that God loves you. And if Jesus is living in you and the Father is loving on you, then who am I to pull away from you? You have just as much love from Jesus as me. And you are just as loved by the Father as me. I’ll be one with you even if I disagree about our theology, your church name, you practice. Why?”
You and I… we have the same identity.
2. You and I… we have the same ministry. v. 23b
… so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.
John 17:23b
What is our ministry? What is our mission? It’s winning the world.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Matthew 28:19a
Think with me. Non-believers can’t evaluate our faith on the basis of the truth of the Bible because the Bible itself says that they can’t understand the things of God. So, the world’s way of evaluating the faith is by seeing how we live it out. Do they see living examples of oneness?
They will know what to believe when they see how we behave.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 (ESV)
What’s a part of that gospel that needs to be preached? It’s the part of the good news that says that the people who are following Jesus can actually get along with each other.
You and I… we have the same ministry – to show the world that Jesus is real – is from the Father and makes a difference in how we get along with each other.
3. You and I… we have the same destiny. v. 24
Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:24 (ESV)
I fell in love with somebody who lived several hours away. I was at Vanderbilt University and Maryanne was at Alabama. So, we wrote lots of letters. In between visits, what I had was her picture. The picture helped the love grow even more. But down in my heart I was saying, “I wish I could see her.” The love was incomplete. I wanted to be with Maryanne –to see her and experience the joy of her physical presence.
This is what we ought to want when it comes to Jesus. This is what He wants. He says, “Father, I want them here where they can see Me in full glory.” It will be an awesome thing to see the full blazing glory of Jesus Christ.
To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord.
II Corinthians 5:8 (KJV)
I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
John 14:3b (NLT)
We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
I John 3:2b (NKJV)
Someday, that follower of Christ who doesn’t have it all right (according to you) will be standing in heaven – maybe right next to you – worshipping Jesus and seeing His glory. How dare I pull away from that person!
Part of the glory of Christ is that He has the capacity to accept sinners.
Remember the woman caught in adultery? Remember how the religious leaders wanted to stone her to death?
Remember how Jesus said, “He who is without sin, lt him cast the first stone?”
Remember how the leaders dropped their stones and walked away?
Remember how Jesus said, “Where are you accusers?”
Remember how she said, “They’ve gone.”
Remember how Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
We’ve got to stop walking through life with stones in our hands to throw at one another. Judgmental thoughts and superior attitudes and critical spirits kill community. Why do we produce so many so-called followers of Christ who are stone-throwers?
Somebody’s kids are a little wild, so let’s throw some stones. Somebody’s marriage isn’t working, so let’s throw some stones. The worship pastor picked the wrong song or played it too loud, so let’s throw some stones.
I’ve noticed over the years that some so-called followers of Christ – though they would never admit it – really are energized by gathering stones.
I read a quote this week: “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
How can we keep on throwing stones at one another when we’ll be in heaven gazing on the glory of Jesus together?
You and I… we have the same destiny – a vision of the glory of Jesus.
Take a trip down south and go out for breakfast and you’re likely to find grits on the menu. I heard about a man from Michigan who had never been very clear about what grits were. So, he asked the waitress, “What exactly is a grit?”
I love the question. Here’s one!
“What exactly is a grit?” Her response was classic. “Honey… (if you’ve ever talked much to my wife, Maryanne, you’ll know that calling people “Honey” is something that girls in the south just learn to do!) “What exactly is a grit?”
#54 “Honey, they don’t come by themselves!”
Grits don’t exist in isolation. No grit is an island, entire unto itself. You can’t order a single grit. They are part of the whole.
What exactly is a follower of Christ? Honey, they don’t come by themselves. In spite of all our differences, we are to be connected – to be in community.
When Jesus prays, it’s not for uniformity – that we are the same when it comes to organization and style and personality. He doesn’t pray for unanimity – that we experience and absolute agreement of opinion. He’s praying that imperfect people – that “as is” people – will know perfection in community.
A point to ponder: We don’t have to see eye-to-eye to walk arm-in-arm.
Accept people. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Give life to people. Don’t destroy a little bit of their vitality by attacking them. Let people around you know that it’s a good thing for them to be alive. Long for the best for people.
A verse to remember: Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Philippians 1:2 (NIV)
A question to consider: What does God want me to do today to start building unity with some imperfect people who share my same identity, ministry, and destiny?
People who share the same identity, ministry, and destiny must look for true spiritual unity. But you have to first begin by asking whether you are truly spiritual. Is Jesus really living in you? Do you really have a passion that outsiders become insiders? Are you sure you are headed to heaven? Are you really connected to God – the One who enjoys perfection in community as Father, Son, and Spirit?
If you are not sure, then give me your hand. And let me place it in the hand of Jesus. He died for you – for your sins. He longs to live in you. He longs to love you. Come to Him. The only way for imperfect people to move toward perfect oneness is to come close to perfection Himself – Jesus Christ.
Our sins of disunity, fighting, judging, and hurting one another are so great that it took Jesus suffering an execution on a cross to save us. You see, the cross breaks the back of disunity.
Never mind about a thousand differences between us of you are in Christ and I am in Christ. If that’s true, we cannot be two. We must be one. Let’s live on earth, as those who are to live together forever in heaven.
