The call to give

In three years of ministry, Jesus healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, raised from the dead, miraculously fed large crowds, proclaimed the good news to the poor, and taught the truth about His heavenly Father. This incredible list of achievements was made possible by the obedience of the Son to fulfill the will of His Father.

The night of the last meal, Jesus held his last conversation with His disciples, and His words showed that He knew He would soon leave them. In John 17, we read that He concluded this moment of communion with a prayer of encouragement about things to come: a triumphant and victorious Church, a people whose love for one another would be a testimony to the world, power and authority flowing through His disciples and the glory of the Father resting on His people. The verb to give more prominence than anything else in the text : "you gave me ... and you gave them to me ... everything you gave me ... I gave them the words that you give me as data."

We notice in this incredible prayer that it is in the nature of the Father to give beautiful gifts to His children. And when He sent His Son, He listed all that He was going to give Him : "I will give you power and authority in My name, the peoples of the Earth, the words that you will have to pronounce and the works to accomplish. And I will give you My glory !"

We see that Jesus had the same nature that gives as His Father. In fact, in His prayer, He brought back all the things He had already given to His disciples - and the things He would continue to give !

In one sense, that night, Jesus gave His disciples His last will and testament. He said : "I establish My kingdom by giving and this is how I want my kingdom to continue to grow through you."

The last thing Jesus gave His disciples before leaving was a special call: the call to give. And this call continues in us.

Gary Wilkerson