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The point, at least for me is that we be as one, as our Dear Lord and Savior prayed we would be as He and the Father are one, unified against our one true enemy, the Devil, FIRST and bickering siblings SECOND if at all.

To your beautiful and comforting passage from John. Does our gentle Lord force us to open the door upon which He knocks? And if we are free to open that door or leave it closed, are we not ourselves also free to shut it closed on Him again.

Hey, I'm all for the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace but one man's "bickering" is another's earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints. I don't think we should EVER compromise on the gospel for the sake of ecumenical unity. That WOULD be something the devil delights in!

It is comforting and beautiful because it assures us of our eternal security we have been promised when we faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows His sheep and we know Him and we follow Him and He gives us eternal life and we shall never perish nor can we be plucked from His hands. That comforts me and I hope you as well.

Sadly, there is a perversion of the gospel that makes our eternal security dependent upon OUR deserving of it. We didn't and never can deserve, merit or work for eternity within the presence of the Almighty Triune Godhead. That's why it is by His GRACE that we are saved. No, He doesn't IMPOSE grace upon mankind but when He saves us, it is Him that keeps us. Jesus said he would lose NONE of those who came to Him nor will He cast them out. We are saved by grace and we are kept by that same grace. As a guarantee of that promise, He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell us and we are sealed UNTIL THE DAY OF REDEMPTION. If Jesus said NO ONE can pluck us from His hands - I think that includes ourselves.

This truth is worth arguing for. It's clarity is essential for all those who would seek to know the truth and the God of truth and He has ensured we know that through His revealed word.