The Berean

Daily Verse and Comment

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"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11
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John 17:20-23

(20) `And not in regard to these alone do I ask, but also in regard to those who shall be believing, through their word, in me; (21) that they all may be one, as Thou Father `art' in me, and I in Thee; that they also in us may be one, that the world may believe that Thou didst send me. (22) `And I, the glory that thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one as we are one; (23) I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, and that the world may know that Thou didst send me, and didst love them as Thou didst love me.


It is a measure of how important "being one" with the Father and Son is that, in this most important prayer delivered on the last night of Jesus' life, Jesus requested of the Father that we be "one with Them" four times! In that sense, it is the most important request in this prayer that we become one with Them.

Will a human being sacrifice for a good and moral purpose? Yes, we will if we believe God, and believe that He loves us. That last element is not easy, as it takes a lot of experience with Him to know that He loves us, and that He loves us every bit as much as He loves Jesus Christ. Notice what verse 23 says: "You . . . have loved them as You have loved Me." As means "equal to"! We have no trouble believing that God exists, but we have a great deal of trouble believing that God loves us. Yet, it is necessary for becoming one with Him, and returning that love back to Him. Human beings will sacrifice if they can get a good handle on their lives, believing God, and believing that He loves them.

Becoming one with the Father and the Son is accomplished through a number of factors, but none is more important for us right now than beginning to live as They live in preparation for being with Them. No other way of life is acceptable to Them, because no other way of life is in harmony with the way that They live.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Knowing God



 


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