Dear one,
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” are words with which many of us are familiar; and yet, their familiarity, amid the crises of Ukraine, has goaded me to ponder them afresh:
Certainly they suggest a contrast between “earth” and “heaven,” and presumably, if “our Father” is good and gracious, and if His Kingdom functions accordingly, then heaven must be wonderful … because we know that “earth,” even with its natural wonders and its many delightful and gifted people, is subject to one heart-rending crisis after another: Ukraine, the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria in combination with one disease or another—and these of recent memory are fully consistent with our human story.
In making these observations, I’m not stating anything new: if heaven exists, then surely “’tis a consummation to be devoutly wished.” And of earth? We know of earthly realities; and yet, my renewed interest is not the contrast between earth and heaven, but that little word “will.” That is, Jesus’ words imply that God’s will is sovereign in heaven, but that He encouraged His disciples to pray that God’s will might be sovereign on earth. If this implication is accurate, then whose will is sovereign on earth? Putin’s? Bashar al-Assad’s? President Biden’s?
Of course, I recognize that the selection of these three, male, political-military figures constitutes a narrow spectrum, and yet intuitively I/we recognize that they are representative of our humanity: the desire for control and power, irrespective the realms we inhabit. Those realms might be global, or they might be within industry, medicine, the academy, business, or our families.
Human will.
Admittedly, when I give thought to “thy will be done,” these words must be understood within the context of the two preceding imperatives: “thy name be holy” and “thy kingdom come.” Thus Jesus knew that “our Father” has a “name” (i.e., in Hebrew thought a name meant character traits, such as “just,” “merciful,” “holy,” “gracious,” etc.), and that His is a “kingdom” in which His will is sovereign. Ah, but is God the Father only sovereign in heaven and not upon the earth?
To answer this question, if we observe Jesus amid a conflict of wills, as James and John sought to grab power and glory, thereby enraging the other ten disciples, we gain great insight into the Kingdom, the sovereignty, and the will of God: Your great ones, Jesus offered, rule as tyrants over you, “but it is not to be so among you … Whoever wills to be great among you must be your servant/slave of all” (Mark 10:41-45). Thus God’s will is counter most any cultural view and experience of sovereignty—counter most any realm we inhabit or circumnavigate.
In terms of the Kingdom, Putin and his ilk is not great; instead, those who are serving destitute Ukrainians are the great ones. God’s will as fulfilled in Jesus is one of giving, serving, and caring—and His will, I believe, will one day reign supreme.
His will,
Stan