that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
It is vital that the name of God be glorified so that everyone can know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. This knowledge is not a mere intellectual apprehension. It is a transformation. God is so great that our whole being is restructured in knowing him. He invites us to look upon him. If we agree we find his own light filling us. We find ourselves able to keep his word. This is why John teaches that "Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (cf. 1 Joh. 2:4). God won't force anyone to know him. If he recklessly revealed himself his being and his goodness would overwhelm us and take away the freedom we have in responding to him. Instead, he holds this out as an invitation to us. We are free to come to him and know him. When we do we begin to belong to the Father and to Jesus.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
In knowing him and obeying him we belong to Jesus and to the Father. Jesus is glorified in us. This is why Jesus is so eager to make himself known to us. He is able to protect, provide, and shepherd us only to the degree that we are his. As his sheep and his subjects we give him permission to care for us and to love us as much as he wants even if it goes against our own self-will or ideas.
Paul for his part also internalizes the importance of this knowledge of Jesus and the Father.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
Both Paul and Jesus are willing to no longer be in the world if that means the glory of Jesus and the Father is revealed.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.
What about us? Do we care this much more those around us? To what lengths are we willing to go to invite as many as we can to eternal life. We know that this life comes only in the name of Jesus Christ. Is his name glorified in us? Paul can say with integrity that he is done all he can to glorify Jesus and the Father.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God
Can we say this? Or is there some responsibility for the blood of our neighbors which is still on us? This is a serious question. Their destiny is no laughing matter. We want to be able to say with Paul that we have done absolutely everything we can for their sake. It is not something we can do on our own. We can feel our own human strength giving way as we consider the idea. God, by the power of his Holy Spirit teaches us how to make him known. He gives us the courage to make him known. It isn't a technical process for which we need great understanding. What we ultimately do is invite. God is more than willing to reveal himself to anyone willing to accept that invitation.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
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