From the time we are children, we try to determine when and where safety can be counted on. That doesn't mean we don't take chances, even dangerous ones.
But we can be sure that safety is always found wherever God is. That doesn't mean life isn't dangerous, however.
In a dangerous world, find your safe place now, quietly, in the heart of God.
All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
John 17:10-13
High school graduations are taking place all over. For many, that means college is coming up in the fall. No doubt, as parents drop their kids off on college campuses, it’s likely they will be breathing a prayer like this: “God, I’ve done my best with my child, to teach them what they need to know about life. Now, would you please watch over my precious one for me?”
In today’s scripture, Jesus’ prayer is similar to the one above, even though he isn’t exactly in the parental role with the disciples. In this case, Jesus will be leaving soon, not the disciples. But the concern is the same; Jesus is concerned that the disciples will be safe when he’s not around.
He prays that his followers will find his joy “made complete in themselves.” In other words, when Jesus is gone, the disciples have the opportunity to put his lessons to work on their own – with God watching over them.
Nick Foster
God, please watch over me today. Help me to learn and put to use the lessons Jesus is teaching me. Amen.
There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before you
Near to the heart of God.
Cleland B. McAfee