Daily Devotions for Friday, January 23, 2026: Above All and Through All: One Father, One Family

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The Daily Devotional

Friday, January 23, 2026

Above All and Through All: One Father, One Family

“One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” — Ephesians 4:6

Introduction

Today marks Day 6 of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Our focus turns to the profound reality that despite our many differences in tradition, liturgy, and language, we stand under the banner of one "Lord and Father." It is fitting that today the Episcopal Church also remembers Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), the towering preacher and Bishop of Massachusetts who penned "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Brooks understood that the God who is "above all" is also the God who enters the "dark streets" of our lives to be "in all."

Reflection

St. Paul provides us with a staggering paradox in Ephesians: God is transcendent (above all) and immanent (through and in all). It is easy to view God as a distant manager of the universe, or conversely, as merely a personal comforting presence. Paul insists He is both. This shared Fatherhood is the bedrock of Christian unity. We are not united because we agree on every point of doctrine, but because we belong to the same Parent.

Consider a community garden in the middle of a bustling city. In this garden, you have dozens of different plots managed by different people. One gardener focuses intently on prize-winning roses; another is strictly growing vegetables to feed their family; a third is experimenting with wild, native herbs. They use different tools, they visit at different times of day, and they might even disagree on the best type of fertilizer.

To an outsider, they look different. But beneath the surface, they are utterly dependent on the same reality. They all rely on the same soil composition. They all wait for the same rain. Most importantly, they all draw from the same water main that feeds the irrigation system. If that one source runs dry, the distinctions between the rose gardener and the vegetable grower cease to matter.

The Church is much like that garden. We may tend different plots—Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic, Baptist—but the Water of Life comes from a single source: God the Father. Phillips Brooks once said, "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." Achieving unity is not an "easy life" or a simple task. It requires the strength to see past the fences of our individual plots and recognize that the gardener next to us is watered by the same loving Father.

Application

Today, take a moment to look for the "family resemblance" in a Christian from a different tradition or background than your own. It is easy to focus on where our theology diverges, but the challenge of Matthew 5:44-48 is to perfect our love just as our Father is perfect.

As you go about your work or errands, remember the words of Phillips Brooks. Don't ask God to remove the difficulties of dealing with people who think differently than you. Instead, pray for the power to love them as God loves them. Ask yourself: How can I treat this person in a way that proves we share the same Father?

Conclusion

Unity is not about uniformity; it is about recognizing our shared origin and our shared destiny. God is not just the Father of those who worship exactly as we do; He is the Father of "all." When we live with the awareness that God is "through all and in all," our neighbors cease to be strangers and become siblings.

Prayer

We confess with faith and worship you, Loving Father, for you are in heaven beyond words, and on earth beyond understanding, through your Son, Jesus Christ. In your tender care, you are the beginning and fulfilment of everything. Glory forever to you, Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Devotional by: Kenny Sallee, ThM — Deming, NM, USA

The Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible, copyright © 1989, 1993, the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.