Thy Kingdom Come

I believe each of us has a God sized hole in our hearts that yearns for the security of eternity, of knowing where we are headed when this life is over whether we acknowledge it or not.

That wise one, Solomon, meditating on this business called life, says in Ecclesiastes 3: 11: He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from the beginning to the end.

I use Lectio 365 for my daily devotions and they recently introduced a midday meditation in which the Lord’s prayer is recited as it has been since the time Jesus taught it to His disciples. Instead of belting it out by rote, I decided to thoughtfully pray each line, allowing the Spirit to guide me in the meditation.

As the main author of the study, Tyler Staton has said of this prayer: “the first part gets us in on God’s world, the second gets God in on our world.”

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” grabbed hold of me. I have heard it preached that, according to this line, we should all be walking in unqualified victory: no illness, no pain, no grief, no hunger, no financial woes, simple Nirvana as we believe it will be in heaven one day. It is God’s will that life on earth should match life in Heaven.

The problem is there is only empirical evidence to back these claims and as I began to question what this really mean, the answer seemed ludicrously simple: God’s will, as expressed over and again in all of scripture with the simple invitation ‘Come”, is for each and every one of us to be walking with Him.

Come all you who are heavy laden, come all you who thirst, Come, Follow Me.

Jesus didn’t sugar coat what our lives would be like here on earth. His teachings are very clear on this: In this world you will have tribulations, you will be persecuted, you will suffer as I suffered, but know this, I will be with you through all those trials. The Apostles, too, affirm it isn’t going to be an easy ride, that we will need courage, faith, perseverance, and the promise is that the final reward will be worth every minute of what we may have gone through here on earth – no more tears, no more pain, only joy.

This is the Father’s heart, that we live with Him in that heavenly Jerusalem for all eternity.

Ezekiel 33: 11: Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

2 Sam 14:14 …Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises means so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

Luke 15: 4-7: What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
And when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

In Mathew 18:14: even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.


  

Clear message. He wants a relationship with us, one that will endure throughout eternity. But we have a road to walk before we get there.

When Jesus talks about judgement, he says: I was hungry, you didn’t feed me, I was in jail, you didn’t visit me, I was cold, you didn’t cloth me.

To me this speaks to some of the hardships we will face this side of eternity, and how we face them may determine how we spend that time. We can get angry and rail against God, we can blame Him, but at the end of the day we are a fallen people, for whom the God of Heaven devised a plan of redemption so radical that many fail to grasp it.

That one man, a perfect man, a God man, given a human nature through His mother Mary, was prepared to walk this earth to experience what earthly life was like, then step up and say: I will do it. I will give my body, my life, that these should all live. Love so huge, so pure it is beyond comprehension.

To be a part of this heavenly throng, all we have to do is answer the invitation: Yes, Lord Jesus, I come.

Do we deserve what He offers us? Absolutely not. Can we afford to say ‘no’? Absolutely not. We are all human, all unworthy, and He doesn’t care, He paid the price regardless.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When you sin, feel let down or mad at yourself, there is a way out: admit you blew it, say sorry to God, and receive His forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 reassures: If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So that we can be a part of Him.

God’s will on earth is not being divinely healed at our prompting and demand, it’s not having miracles drop into our laps when we feel the need for them, it’s not walking in absolute victory and freedom every minute of every day, it is simply to make sure that everyone has the chance to answer ‘Yes” to His call to “Come.”

It’s that simple.

Are there divine healings? Absolutely there are. Are curses broken in His Name? Oh yes, they are. Do demons flee when told to go in His Name? They do indeed. But in all this, we walk in submission to His will, following His instruction. The answer to our prayers and desires we leave in His hands, to heal or not as He wills, to bless with abundance or not, to open doors or close them. But His promise is no matter the answer, He is with us, watching over us, and one day, we will be in the new Jerusalem with Him.

Let me leave you with these words from that most faithful of prophets, Isaiah 50: 1,2

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; 
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good
And let your soul delight itself in abundance
And then verse 3:  Incline your ear and come to Me,
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you –
The sure mercies of David.

Scripture from NKJV New Spirit Filled Life Bible