Spiritual Eavesdropping

How honored we are to get to "listen in on" this conversation between God the Father and God the Son--to witness again their intimate relationship! Jesus here reveals His heart for His Father and for us, His children. He prays His deepest desires for us. Jesus asks that we be protected from the evil one, though not removed from the world. No, though we're not of the world any more than Jesus is of the world, He wants us here to bring others into the light of His truth. And as we live out that calling, we fulfill Jesus' longing for us: "so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."(v. 13) And it's God's good pleasure to give us just that. Whenever I read Jesus' high priestly prayer, recorded here in John 17, I'm touched by His passion for me, which He'll demonstrate on Good Friday as He offers Himself as the sacrifice for my sins. How can we help but cling to the One with such a deep and abiding love for us?