In these verses, Jesus prays for Himself. Notice the tone. He is about to take on the most difficult task anyone has ever had to do. He will have to willingly allow Himself to be beaten, mocked and killed. But he doesn’t pray for help or relief. He will save those personal prayers for the garden. He prays about the glory He and the Father are giving each other. Jesus glorifies the Father by completing the work the Father gave Him. Jesus, who is the source of all life, knows that His purpose on Earth is to give eternal life to all the people the Father has given Him. And look at how that life is defined: “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent — Jesus Christ.” There is no real life without God. The definition of life is to know God and to be with Him. A relationship with God is life, separation from Him is death.
Lawrence O. Richards wrote: “As Jesus glorified God by doing His work in the world, so can we. What we display as we love and serve others is not our own goodness, but the transforming grace of a God who can work through human beings. Our good works are performed for God’s glory, not for our own, for we gladly admit that He is the source of all that is good within us.”
How are you glorifying God by loving and serving others? Is there work that God wants you to do that you’re not doing? Pray about it and commit to doing what He wants you to do.