Loved Before the World Began

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:24-26
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Loved Before the World Began
Jesus’ prayer turns our eyes beyond the noise of the present age and fixes them on God’s eternal purpose. Before creation itself, the Father’s love rested on the Son, and in Christ, that love now rests on us. This is not sentiment but certainty. Jesus prays not with uncertainty but with divine authority, asking that His people share in His glory. Yet that glory is first revealed in the cross. The world sees shame there; faith sees the love of God made visible. The Father’s name, His mercy, faithfulness, and saving will, is revealed not by our ascent to Him, but by the Son’s descent into suffering and death. At Calvary, Christ gathers us into the communion He shares with the Father. Even now, Christ continues to make the Father known through Word and Sacrament, anchoring us in a love no hatred can undo. Because Jesus has gone to the cross, we are never outside the Father’s care, now or forever.