On Earth as it is in Heaven

Matthew 6:9-10

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
    as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:9-10

“On Earth as it is in Heaven.”

These are extraordinary words that we have taken for granted, and I think for a lot of Christians, even though we pray these words we don’t fully realize the implication of what we are praying.

What is the goal of being a Christian? Why do we devote our life to Jesus? If we ask people, one of the answers that is sure to come up most frequently is “So that when we die, we go to heaven.” We sing beautiful songs about leaving Earth and going to heaven, I’ll Fly Away and When We All Get to Heaven.¹

But that is not what we Jesus teaches us to pray. He doesn’t say, “help us to get to heaven when we die.” He teaches us to pray “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

What is heaven? It is the place where God reigns. And Jesus is teaching us to pray for an extraordinary thing. Pray for God to reign fully here and now, not just then and there.

Here and now. This is the Kingdom of God. It’s not a future benefit to those who follow the rules. It’s a real presence that lasts forever. And forever begins today.

Biblical scholar Bishop N.T. Wright says it this way, “Jesus' agenda of God's kingdom coming on earth as in heaven has simply not been on the radar. People don't know that that's what the whole Bible is about. It's not about how humans go to be with God, it's about how God comes to be with humans, and what happens when he does.”²

So, look around and look for the Kingdom of God.

Believe that God has come down to earth to bring his presence, power, and purposes for today, and God is inviting you to participate.

Love,

Aaron

P.S. In October at Christ Church on Harvard, we will be beginning a series “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” We are going to be sharing what does it means to be Kingdom Citizens in Tulsa, OK, USA in 2024. In a partisan world with hyper-rhetoric and disgust for those who think/vote differently, we all need to remind ourselves about our primary allegiance and how we engage in our world around this time of another election.

1. These songs are great. I love hearing the church sing them, because they communicate our desire to be with God. The heart behind the songs are amazing, the message IMO are lacking. If you need to chat about that, then let’s do that!

2. https://careynieuwhof.com/episode674/