He [Jesus] lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed. I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your Name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are One.”
(John 17:1b-11 ESV)
When Jesus was praying for us on the night before His death, He kept talking about belonging. You can see it in His words. He says that God has given Him the authority to give eternal life to everyone God has given Him (see verse 2). He refers to us as “the people whom You gave Me out of the world,” and says also, “Yours they were, and You gave them to Me” (see verse 6). And then yet again, He says He is praying “for those You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine” (see verses 9-10).
What does all this tell us? It was no accident that you came to faith in Jesus. Whether you grew up in a Christian family or not, from the beginning God intended that you should belong to His Son—and He gave you to Him. You are a gift to Jesus from the Father, a gift Jesus treasures so much He willingly suffered, died, and rose again for you. He intends to give you everlasting life, and to raise you up from the dead on the Last Day (see verse 2, also John 6:39-40).
So what are you now, then? You are Jesus’ treasure, the gift of the Father to His Son, the joy set before Him for which He endured the cross (see Hebrews 12:2). Jesus refuses to lose you. He loves you dearly, and He prays for you—here, on the night before His death, and even now in heaven as He intercedes with the Father for you (see Hebrews 7:25).
We pray: Dear Lord, I am glad I belong to You. Keep me with You forever. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on May 14, 2026
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
Reflection Questions:
• How do you treat a treasure? What would you do to keep it safe?
• How does Jesus treat you? What has He done for you? What is He still doing, and what will He do in the future?
• The Song of Solomon 6:3a reads, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” If you belong to Jesus, that means He belongs to you, too. How does that make you feel?