What Really Matters: Union, Unity, and Mission

Good morning. I want to reflect on a pivotal moment in Jesus's ministry—the last evening he spent with his disciples before going to the cross. John documents this extensively, dedicating nearly a quarter of his entire Gospel to Jesus's final discourse and prayer (John 13–17). It's as if Jesus is saying to them: "If you forget everything else I've taught you, remember this."

Three Core Concepts

As I study Jesus's communication during this crucial time, I see three major areas of focus:

1. Union — the privilege of being reunited with our Father, welcomed into relationship with the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
2. Unity — the community of faith that rises up to manifest the culture of the kingdom, known by love and a new way of living together
3. Mission — being sent into the world as ambassadors of God to affect our world with faith, love, and hope

These three concepts align beautifully with Calvary's own mission: connecting people to God (union), connecting people to people (unity), and connecting people to outreach (mission).

Jesus Prays for You

What fascinates me most is that Jesus doesn't just pray for the disciples in that room. Listen to John 17:20:

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message."

Jesus included you in this prayer. He says, "I'm not just praying for these disciples. I'm praying for all those far off who will believe."

Hear what he prays over your life:

"That all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us... that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me, and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:20–23)

This is powerful. Jesus believed this truth about your life and mine.

Understanding Union

Let me unpack what union really means. This is covenantal language. It means you are not just some disconnected sinner trying to make heaven one day. Many Christians live as though God's miraculous invitation isn't real in their lives—as though God is still far away and they're trying to prove themselves worthy.

But that's a lie. You are invited to share in the very life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You are invited into union.

Jesus speaks constantly about this union:

• In John 14: "The Father and I are one."
• In John 15: "I am the vine, you are the branches. You must abide in me."
• In John 16: "The Spirit will be with you and in you. He'll be your comforter, your strengthener, your guide."

What is Jesus communicating? Union with God. This is the most amazing revelation any human being can receive.

The Settled Heart

In John 14, Jesus begins by saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled," and later commands, "Do not let your hearts be troubled." The shift from invitation to command is intentional. Why? Because Jesus had just shared information that, if you truly grasp it, will settle your heart in a confusing and challenging world.

What is this settling truth? Listen to John 14:23:

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him. And we will come to him and make our home.'"

You have become the address of God on earth. God doesn't just visit you—he moves in. He comes with all his luggage.

I once heard a speaker say it this way: "God comes with all the luggage." God moves into your life. This is what Jesus was telling his disciples: "Guys, if you forget everything else, get this. It will reposition your life."

But here's the key: You can only receive this if you recognize that God loves you exactly as he loves Jesus.

Performance vs. Favor

Do you believe God loves you the way he loves Jesus? Not just theologically, but emotionally? Because if you don't truly believe it, your spirituality becomes performance. You live with an orphan spirit, trying to achieve something God has already settled in Christ.

He's made up his mind about you in Jesus Christ. God loves you, and he wants you to stop performing. It's exhausting to live that way—always trying to achieve favor.

Here's the truth: We don't work for favor. We work from favor.

I remember going to a bank once for a complex financial deal. As I walked to the door, I heard myself say, "Alan, you're wasting your time. The bank won't help you." And right then, I sensed God speaking to me:

"Why are you walking into this bank like a loser? When you walk in there, lift your head up. Put your shoulders back. You belong to me. I'm your Father. The Creator of the universe will walk in with you. And whether the bank helps you or not, when you walk out, I—the God of the universe who is now your Father, who promised I will never leave you and never forsake you—I will walk out with you, and I will be your security."

I walked in differently. The bank actually said no. But as I walked out, I had such peace in my heart. Why? Because my heart was no longer troubled. The God of the universe has made his home in me. Why would I be afraid? Why would I be troubled? Why would I be anxious?

This is what Jesus wants his disciples to understand: If you forget everything else, remember—you have the privilege of union with God.

Unity: The Horizontal Expression

But union with God doesn't stop there. The vertical union produces horizontal unity. Jesus connects us to one another in community.

You're going to live differently. You're going to live beyond yourself—as people who give, who serve, who are there for one another. It's a whole different value system than what the world chases.

Jesus models this that very evening. He takes a towel, wraps it around himself, and kneels to wash his disciples' feet. The disciples can't believe it: "This is our rabbi. This shouldn't be happening." But Jesus says, "Let me show you a whole new way of life. It's the way of love."

And knowing that one will betray him, another will deny him, and the rest will scatter, Jesus gives them a new commandment:

"Love one another as I have loved you. By this, everyone will know you're my disciples." (John 13:34–35)

It's not about how well you know the Bible, your theological positions, or how beautiful your worship is. People will know you're his disciples through your love.

The New Commandment

Jesus had spoken about love before. When asked about the greatest commandment, he quoted the Old Testament:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind... Love your neighbor as yourself." (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18)

But here's what's new: "Love one another as I have loved you."

The Old Testament demanded love through your own willpower and strength. Jesus says something revolutionary: When you discover how loved you are—when you truly come to the revelation that you are loved unconditionally—it will empower you to love in a completely different way.

Unity Despite Difference

Jesus's disciples were vastly different from one another. Think about Peter—always dramatic, always doing something unexpected. He's getting out of boats, cutting off ears. Then there's John, gentle and loving. Everybody loves John. He even refers to himself as "the disciple that Jesus loved."

Yet Peter and John are always quoted together. Why? Because when Christ comes into the picture, it elevates us to a higher level of appreciation and engagement with one another. This doesn't mean agreement on everything—it means allegiance to a higher reference: Jesus Christ.

You see this throughout the disciples:

• Philip is the immediate believer; Thomas is the intellectual skeptic. Yet they're quoted together.
• Matthew was a tax collector working for Rome; Simon was a Zealot, an anti-Roman extremist from the far right. Yet Jesus chose both.

In Christ, we are bonded together in a different way than the world understands.

Mission: Sent, Not Escaped

But union and unity aren't the end. Jesus says there's a mission. There's something I have on my heart for this world.

Listen to what Jesus prays in John 17:15–18:

"My prayer is not that you take them out of this world, but that you protect them from the evil one... As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world."

Here's what's critical: Christianity is not an evacuation plan. It's a sending program. We are not just rescued from the world; we are sent to the world.

Jesus continues: "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth."

The Flea Collar Parable

I struggled with this passage for years until I received a revelation—let me share it through a parable about my dog and fleas.

My dog had fleas, so I decided to comb through his hair and catch each one individually. A friend asked what I was doing, and when I explained, he said, "Why don't you just buy a flea collar?"

I got the flea collar and put it around my dog's neck. Within three days, all the fleas were gone.

I asked my friend, "How does this work? How do the fleas at the tail end know there's a flea collar at the neck?" He explained:

"There's a powder on the collar. As the dog moves, the hair brushes the collar, releasing powder onto the skin. It's assimilated into the bloodstream and builds immunity. Now when a flea bites, the flea dies and the dog lives."

I suddenly understood John 17.

Jesus is praying: "Father, I don't pray that you take them out of the flea nest of this world. Put them right in the middle of the fleas. But sanctify them. Let truth find such opportunity in their lives that it builds an immune system. When they enter the broken, damaged, sinful world, they won't be affected by it—they will affect it."

Why We Gather

This is why we gather every Sunday, every Wednesday, whenever we come together. We're allowing God's truth to rest on our souls so it builds capacity within us. When we enter a confused, broken world, we're not intimidated or infatuated by it. We represent the kingdom of God.

Truth repositions us to be on mission. We're not evacuating. We're being sent.