Love for the World

Bible Study 4: Love for the World

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 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 so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

— John 17:20-26

Introduction

The disciples never forgot the last time Jesus, their Teacher, gathered them together shortly before his death and resurrection. He served them by washing their feet, reassured them by promising another Comforter who would dwell within them and prepared them for the challenges ahead. Finally, he prayed for them, not that God would take them out of the world, but that He would protect them from the Evil One and set them apart for special work.

In what ways do your life and career intersect with or engage the world?

Discussion Questions

What Jesus Longs For:

  1. When someone is near death, we listen very carefully to them. What is on Jesus’ mind and heart at this hour?  
  2. Why is pursuing unity, intimacy and hope so difficult? 
  3. Imagine hearing this from Jesus today.  What impact do these words have at this time in your own life, work and relationships?  

What Has Already Been Accomplished:

  1. What resources does Jesus reference in His prayer that would help fulfill the longings He has?
  2. How could you draw on those realities as you face various challenges – in prayer, in attitudes, in behavior?

What Purposes Jesus Has In Mind:

  1. "Love for the world” – What does Jesus long for? What does this include?
  2. As members of the student affairs community, how could we embrace, model and fulfill these same purposes?

Let’s join Jesus in praying these same things for one another, for our campus and for the world!

Learn more about the Four Loves of the Student Affairs Christian Network here.

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