To Be With Me Where I Am – John 17

The world keeps score.
Finland, for seven years, sits at the top
of happiness rankings—
clean air, quiet lakes, long days.
Australia is close, they say.
But we know better.
We who live saturated lives,
bright with choices,
but dimmed at the edges
by a restlessness we cannot name.

Where is the joy the Bible speaks of?
Where is the peace that surpasses?
We scroll. We work. We wonder.
Are we missing something
or someone?

We eavesdrop
on sacred ground—
the Son speaking to the Father,
not in triumph,
but with the shadow of a cross
looming before him.
He prays, not for escape,
but for us: “Father, I want them with me.”
I will them.
Strong words.
Not wistful or vague,
“I will them near.”
And what he wills
cannot fail.

They are not the well-behaved.
Not the religious elite.
Not the ones who chose well.
They are the ones given.
Chosen before birth,
before failure or faith,
before they could say yes
or no.
They are the gift—
from the Father to the Son.
You. Me.
All those stumbling toward the light
he will not let go.

He prays us home.
“To be with me where I am.”
Not just later. Forever.
Protected. United.
Sanctified by truth,
and kept from the evil one.
He prays that we will see his glory—
not hear about it,
not imagine it,
but see it.
He prays for us
like a groom waiting at the altar,
knowing the bride
will soon walk in.

It means we do not belong
to the moment.
We belong to the promise.
To the One who prays
and does not forget.

We are not lost.
We are being led.
Not to comfort,
but to glory.
Not to ease,
but to nearness.
So ‘pitch your tent
a day’s march nearer home’.
Live now
like he’s already opened the door.
Because he has.

And he’s waiting.

Original message by Sean Tan, The Bridge Church Macquarie Park NSW
13 July 2025