Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Luke 11:2
We know these words from the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that Jesus gave to the disciples, and to us, as a guide. These words became forever meaningful to as a result of a former pastor’s sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer.
To consider that God’s plan is to make earth as holy and perfect as heaven is very powerful. Today we seem far from that plan for us—that makes me sad, and gives me hope at the same time.
In these days following the mass shooting in Orlando, other acts of violence, and political intransigence and seeming mean-spiritedness, we need more hope than humanity can provide. We need Divine hope. And, we can find it in the words: Your Kingdom…Your Will Be Done.
The burden is God’s, God accepted that burden and sent Jesus to bring the Good News, and provide a model for living, and for prayer.
Our job is to pray as Jesus taught us. Our job is to practice what Jesus modeled: in a world of meanness, fear, greed, selfishness and lost hope, Jesus taught us:
To return evil with good
To pray for those who mistreat us, and others
To forgive
To feed the hungry and care for the hurting
To care for our environment
To serve, not to judge
And our job it to have faith. I will pray knowing God will bring healing and perfect love and I will do my best as a keeper of His Word and will on earth. With His help and guidance, I find hope.
- Ellen Rendle