And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world,
and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have
given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I
kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not
one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture
might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the
world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:11–13, ESV)
I enjoy watching baseball, especially when a pitcher can
shut out the other team. But there are simply times that no matter how good the
pitcher is doing he must be pulled from the game. Maybe he is on a pitch count
in order to preserve him for his next start, or possibly he has some form of
tightness developing that the coach doesn’t want to risk losing him over. What
happens during this process is that the coach will come and take the ball from
the pitcher, give him a pat on the back for his excellent effort and then put
the ball in the glove of the next pitcher when he arrives to the mound. As the
retiring pitcher sits down with his lead intact he hopes that the new pitcher
will be able to maintain. This is the best case scenario, but there are many
more games I’ve seen where it doesn’t work quite this way. Either the pitcher
has lost control and he is pulled for another pitcher with better control, or
the pitcher has put the game at risk and then it all breaks loose when the
incoming pitcher is unable to bail him out. This is how it is with man. Man is
not perfect. He cannot control every pitch. He is limited in strength and
endurance, and he definitely cannot evade the swing of every batter.
But the Father and the Son are not this way. God the Father
sent God the Son into the world to bring salvation to man. He did exactly what
He was supposed to do which included taking the ones chosen by the Father as
His own and training them in preparation for the time He would leave. He did
this exactly as was intended and He did not lose a single one (give up a single
run) except the one He was intended to give up who was known from the beginning
of time to be the one would betray Him. The time had now come for Him to return
to the Father, and the Son handed them back to the Father.
He had kept them as one and Jesus was praying to the Father
that He would continue to keep them that way. Jesus was physically present to
do this for them, and now it was time for the Father to guard them in His
absence. He prayed this in their presence so that they might know exactly what
He intended, and that they might even know His joy fulfilled in them.
Twisting up the baseball analogy a bit (as weak as it is),
let’s look at Jesus as the starting pitcher. He was sent in from the team’s
dugout for a specific number of innings according to the will and under the
instruction of the coach. He pitched perfectly throughout His part of the game,
and when it was time for Him to return to the dugout, the coach handed the ball
off to His relief, caring for them as He did the starter. When Jesus left the
game was not over. In many ways it had just begun, and the disciples were the
first ones given to take up the work left to them in His absence. And knowing
that God is still firmly in control we also know that Jesus is standing right
there by His side as even we take our turns in His service.
Of course, the big difference is that the Father and the Son
are God and we’re not. They are absolutely perfect powerful and we are totally
dependent and fallible. But the amazing thing is that God has chosen us to be
His and to be useful for Him to accomplish His perfect will. We may throw a few
too many balls and hit a batter now and then, but it is God who keeps us in the
game knowing all the time the final score, and according to His perfect Word
there will be great rejoicing at the end.
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