Barrel of Monkeys II

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”

- John 17:20 NIV

Barrel of Monkeys not only reminds me to bend down and give a hand up, but I also love the image of the ever lengthening chain of monkeys.
It reminds me of the above quoted verse from John 17. As Jesus approaches the end of His earthly life he spends time in prayer. He spends time first praying for Himself, then for His disciples and then in verse 20 He prays for those who will believe in Him through the disciple’s message. There is a chain that Jesus recognizes. It starts with himself, extends to His disciples with whom He shared the good news and continues on to those with whom the disciples shared. I believe that we who believe in Jesus are also a part of the chain and have the responsibility to reach out to others with the good news of Jesus that they too might join the chain and in turn continue to reach out.