Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 17:21.2 ”That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
We don’t want to miss God’s plan in sending His Son. His plan was that the love the Father has for His Son, which unites them would be manifested to and through a select group of followers.These followers were so impacted and transformed as they received and believed the words the Father gave Him to give to them, so that they became channels of His life, love, and the gospel in the world. His use of the word world in this case seems to be the same as was John’s use of it in 1 John 2:2. “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” What is meant is this: In the entire history of the world, God has provided only one way, namely Jesus, for sins to be forgiven and upon whom anyone may believe and be saved. In Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21, Jesus was saying to His Father, that throughout the entire remaining history of the world, the community of believers filled and unified by His love, will be the convincing proof to everyone who believes that God sent Jesus as Lord and Savior.
A team of 8 guys on mission in Brazil for Global Challenge Expeditions were cruising the Amazon River. They and other passengers slept in hammocks on deck for over a week. They built a relationship with two men, one was an atheist and another was a new ager who believed that the universe is God. Opportunities arose for them to share their testimonies regarding Jesus and for the other two to also share their “testimonies” of “miracles” they had experienced in life. One shared how certain amazing things had happened “by chance” and the other shared how “the universe” provided for Him. They all testified of peace, hope, and faith they had found in Jesus, the universe, and in humanity. Finally, my friend provided the undeniable evidence that Jesus was God in the flesh sent to save mankind. He said, “You have watched us guys for a week. Have you noticed the love we have for each other? That comes from Jesus.” The other two men replied, “We don’t have that.” It isn’t something humans or the universe can provide. The love that unites believers testifies to the world that God sent Jesus. We live to love with Jesus so the world may believe that God sent Him to be their savior and Lord.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 17:21 ”That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
From before the foundation of the earth, God determined that by the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, everything that separates us from God would be removed from us physically as well as positionally. The love of the Father and Son could not be contained in heaven alone. His love, by its nature, had to be revealed, known, and shared with, in, and through undeserving, sin-ridden, hostile, hell-deserving, grace-transformed outcasts. In this verse, we see the awesome, and I do mean awesome, vision of God for us and the means by which it is realized. The vision is that through the intercession of Jesus, God and redeemed mankind would become one to the same degree that the Father and the Son are one. We are indeed saved by His life. He prayed for this glorious end in His prayer in this verse, and then having been resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, He has received the authority to give eternal life to all whom the Father gave to Him. He ever lives to intercede for us and save us as it says in Heb. 7:25.
God has answered this prayer of Jesus, the Son. He prayed for our union with Him and the Father according to God’s will and name, the name of love. This is the basis of our identity as sons of God and the basis of our purpose for living. We are as united with Jesus as He was with His Father when He was sent into this world to love with His Father for His glory. Let this sink in! May this great truth overpower the darkness, as His light, which is His love, shines in this world through us today.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

Faithful and True (August 1, 2026 Blog) by Norm Wakefield

John 17:19-20 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;”
Jesus asked the Father to sanctify His disciples through His Word (17:17), namely, the commandment to believe in Him, who is the truth, and love with Him who is the way (13:34). This was made possible through His unswerving dedication to lay Himself down for them. He did it then, as He willingly, intentionally, went to the cross. The impact of such love was intended to thrust them into the world with the same dedication, intention, and willingness to lay their lives down—living to love with Jesus. Jesus could see that His prayer for His disciples extended also to all who would believe because He sanctified Himself to God’s purpose so that they would be sanctified to God’s purpose, so that we also might be sanctified to God’s glorious, redemptive, purpose. How do we know if Jesus was praying for us? If we have believed in Jesus through the words of Jesus’ first disciples, then we were and still are in the mind and intercession of the Son of God. What does this mean to us? It means, we are united with Christ, set apart to God’s holiness, to His redemptive, loving purpose in this world. This purpose sets us apart from everyone else in the world. The world lives for this world. We have been set apart to live to love with Jesus for the glory of God. I hope this encourages you like it does me. What an incredible and glorious way to live!

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 17:19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”
There’s a false narrative floating around in the world that Jesus died because He spoke truth to power, not because He was the Father’s sacrifice of atonement to take away sins. This verse exposes and condemns the lie. The truth, right out of the mouth of the Son of God is this. Unlike priests who sanctified both the temple and the offerings unto God, Jesus as our high priest, sanctified Himself, as the offering unto God. He was not a victim. Nothing happened to Him that was not in His control. He set His body, soul, and spirit apart from the common uses in this world and set Himself apart to His Father’s will and purpose.
Jesus was sent into this world by the Father to lay down His life to satisfy divine justice on behalf of those whom the Father gave to Him before the world existed. And this is love: the sustained direction of the will toward their highest good, no matter what the cost. The sustained direction of the will is what it means to sanctify. Jesus determined to love His disciples with the Father, so they could be sanctified in truth and love His own with Him. We are here today because God answered Jesus’ prayer. They were sanctified in truth by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the impact of which has powerfully continued to this day and will continue to the end of this world.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com