John 17:11

John 17:11 says, And now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.  Holy Father, keep through thine holy name those thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.  Jesus again told the disciples as He prayed to the Father that He was leaving.  His prayer was for unity of His followers that was as close as the unity between Himself and the Father. This still applies to us today.  We are to be as one through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Even if we hold differing views about certain aspects of being a follower of Christ, we are to be united through the cross of Jesus.  Our calling is to present Him to the world, and not to argue amongst ourselves.  Verse twelve adds, While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.  Just as Jesus said of the disciples in His day, once we are His, He will not lose us.  There may be some, like Judas, who profess to be His who are lost, but they were never His in truth.  Again, Judas was not ordained for his role as the betrayer of Jesus, but he fulfilled the role of his own free will.  We can take comfort and find peace in the fact that Jesus is never going to lose those that are truly His.  His promises are true and always will be.  If we accept Him as our Savior, we are His forever.  Verse thirteen continues, And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.  Once more, we can be certain that Jesus will never leave us without knowing Who He is and what He did for us.  The disciples were about to face some uncertain days, but Jesus had already told them the outcome, if they would only listen.  When we face uncertain days, we need to remember the outcome and just stay faithful to God. Then, His joy should be fulfilled in us.  We too often act as if the world is going to be victorious and we have no reason to live in joy. Jesus said He told the disciples, and us through the Bible, that He did so that His joy might be fulfilled in them and us.  We need to claim the joy of Christ in our lives.