Thy Will....

         your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10) 

       My pastor preached on “The Lord’s Prayer” this morning, and as usual, my mind camped on this verse. If we are asking that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, it’s reasonable to ask what we’re asking for and how it differs from our experience.

        The first thing it tells us about Heaven is that it’s where God’s will is done. You might think of God’s will in heaven as gravity, or air. It’s just the way things are – and even if we were to complain about it, thoughts of living outside of its influence would be silliness. It’s not that God would crush you or condemn you to hell for suggesting something that isn’t His will. It’s that such is not the way things work. At the same time, I can’t really say that Heaven is where God’s will is done and yours isn’t, because if it is your will to do God’s will then you do your own will in heaven because you do God’s will.

        In Heaven, God’s will is done naturally. There’s no battle, no drama, no throwing ourselves down in the grocery store aisle. Our doing His will naturally doesn’t mean that we become omniscient, always knowing what His will is in every situation. I’m also not saying there will never be disagreement with God about what should happen. Abraham, Moses, and several other Biblical figures argued with God and “won.” But the point is that in Heaven, our goal will be to do God’s will, so even if we disagree about the how, our goal remains His will. In Heaven, God’s will is done without muss, fuss, or drama.

        All this brings us to the question of whether we’re really willing to pray “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” It will require at least as much from us as it does from “those other folks.”