On Earth as It Is in Heaven

Posted On December 11, 2022

“I know that I will live to see
the Lord’s goodness in this present life.”

Psalm 27:13 GNT

“A lot of Christians I know stagger through life in a daze. Suffering from post traumatic faith disorder, they hunker down in the basement, open a can of Beanie Weenees, and wait for the end of the world.”

Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still

Last week’s post focused on the Lord’s prayer, including “Thy Kingdom Come” and “Thy Will Be Done” as headings for the topics we discussed. But as I was trying to come up with an idea for this week, I kept coming back to a different phrase from this prayer. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray for God’s will to be done, He didn’t stop there, so I thought maybe we should spend some time this week focusing on the rest of the sentence:

“Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:10 CSB

“Christ’s Second Coming should not be just a far off hope for you. It should be a daily reminder that God is always active in your life.”

Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles

On earth as it is in heaven… What exactly drew me to this phrase? It came to mind after I read one of my daily online devotionals. In fact, I guess you could say it was a reaction to something with which I didn’t quite agree. Let me start by saying that I don’t think of this as a bad thing. I enjoy a variety of authors and viewpoints in my Christian readings. And I find it enlightening when they don’t all see things quite the same way, because it forces me to think about what I believe. I am grateful for the different perspectives, because there is always something I can learn.

The writers for the devotional app that inspired this week’s post have a more conservative view than I do on many topics, and what got me thinking this time was the way they often talk about God’s promises: They tend to focus on them only in the context of being fulfilled someday when Christ returns. While this is true, I don’t think that’s all there is to the story (and I have read books by other Christian authors who see it as I do).

I don’t believe God saves all His promises for someday. And I don’t believe God wants us Christians to expend all our energy just trying to survive the sinful state of the world while we wait for Christ’s return. But that’s the feeling I got from the devotional I read that day, and to be honest, it was a little depressing. So I thought it would be worthwhile, and hopefully encouraging, to share a different viewpoint: I think there’s much more we can do than just survive or hide out from the world. If we are alive right now, then we are here for a purpose. God has amazing plans and incredible promises for us in this life. And I believe He wants us to get excited about it!

“God has made us what we are.
In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works,
which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.”

Ephesians 2:10 NCV

“Faith isn’t just a Get Out of Hell free card. . . . faith is not a drug to sedate you through a life you hate. It’s a force to transport you to another realm of reality. There is a better way — a higher calling to fulfillment and significance that God deeply desires for your job, your marriage, your parenting, your finances, and your impact on this world.”

Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still

Holiness and happiness are not mutually exclusive — quite the opposite, in fact. Christ promised us abundant life (John 10:10), and He wants us to be happy. I don’t mean just a stoic kind of joy in the midst of suffering, although He promises us that, too. But I mean the butterflies-in-the-stomach, lighter-than-air, I’m-so-excited kind of happiness! Faith is meant to be active, and that includes learning to find our happiness in Him and in His promises. After all, how can we expect to attract others to Christ if we seem to be grumbling all the time? (I’m preaching at myself here!)

This sounds good. But if, like me, you find yourself wondering how exactly you’re supposed to achieve this abundant life, maybe this will help. We have work God wants us to do in this life, and that means that many of His promises are for today in order to help us do it. And these are promises we can get excited about! Promises like:

• “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 ESV)
• “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:12 NLT)
• “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (John 16:13 NLT)
• ” . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NIV)
• “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20 NIV)

So, just to summarize: God promises that when we center our lives around Christ, He will give us our heart’s desires. And if that isn’t enough, He also promises us access to His power to work miracles and know the future. Nothing will be impossible for us. Feeling happier, yet? I know I am! These aren’t just faraway, someday promises. These are amazing, exciting promises God gives us now. Why? So that His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“Yes, joyful are those who live like this!
Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.”

Psalm 144:15 NLT

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that Christ came to bring God’s Kingdom to earth, and we are called to help Him shine His light in the world right now. So let’s not be afraid to activate our faith, cling to God’s promises, and find true happiness in this life. God doesn’t want us to just keep our heads down and hide from the all the evil in the world. He wants us to get out there and do something about it. He gave each of us specific talents to use and a unique role to fill, and He expects us to do our part gladly and with love for all of His children, especially those who are lost.

Christ came to save us and to give us an abundant, joy-filled life forever with Him. And eternal life starts now in this world. Christ won’t come again until everyone has had a chance to hear about Him, so let’s embrace our calling and happily spread the Good News!

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10 ESV

References:

• Furtick, Steven. Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible. Multnomah Books, 2010.
• Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.

Images:

• Light Bulb featured image by PIRO from Pixabay
• Hanging Light Bulbs image by Alexa from Pixabay
• Light Bulb against Starry Sky image by Matheus Bertelli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-light-bulb-with-string-lights-inside-1830252/
• String Lights in Hand image by Kei Scampa: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-string-light-2370726/
• Christmas Tree image by Brigitte Tohm: https://www.pexels.com/photo/defocused-image-of-illuminated-christmas-tree-against-sky-253342/