I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ... As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ... My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15: 5, 9-10, 12)
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ... Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17: 11, 23)
Might it be possible for the prevailing conversation to evolve even further so as to invite, not a debate so much as a creative melding of complementary lines of sight? Might the apparent conflict itself prove to hold clues to a more profound integration? –Esther Meek
