Lord of Heaven and Earth,
You are astounding. So many things make us stand in awe of your brilliance. We are surrounded by the beauty of your universe, which speaks to the creative genius of your power. We can wake up early and watch a sunrise turn the sky a myriad of fantastic colours; we can look at pictures from telescopes and see the infinite radiance of a million billion stars that make up our night sky and silently speak of your splendour. We can go for a bushwalk in the Blue Mountains and be surrounded by the beauty of your world in the endless vista of bushland and the majesty of the mountains; we can walk on sandy yellow beaches, with curling waves and crystal waters stretching out to the horizon; we can see the smiles on little children who are overwhelmed with wonder at the simplest joys; we can go to Christian conventions and sing your praises with fantastic songs, and our spirits can be lifted by the rejoicing of hundreds of fellow believers; we can take time in quiet prayer and reflection on your word, and commune with you, our maker and our sovereign. At these times we feel so close to you, like we could almost reach out and touch you, our Lord and God.
But then we have to close our Bibles, and our prayers have to end with an Amen. Conventions end, the songs are over, and we return to our home lives and our own church meetings week after week. Smiling children grow up, and become teenagers, and then adults, and need lunches and allowances and textbooks and patience. We switch from pictures of the universe to the daily news, and read about trouble, tragedy and temptation. The sun goes on rising, and we have to go to work, to study, to look after our families. And we can so easily lose sight of you in the everyday of our lives. We can think of you only as the God of the good times.
Lord, help us to see you in everything. We thank you that Jesus Christ, your own son, did not only live for the good times, but came as a servant, to live and to die for your glory, and for our salvation. He denied himself, he carried his cross, he suffered mockings, beatings, rejections and pain for us, and he gave up his life for us. He walked, he worked, he faced all the world's troubles and temptations. You know what our lives are like, Father God. You have lived them beside us, both the good and the bad. Help us to see Jesus in the face of every sick friend, every grieving mother, every suffering sister, every tired and stressed brother, every needy child. Help us to see your splendor all the more clearly in the squalor of sin and shame and suffering of this world. Let us feel close to you as we do what your word says, and carry our crosses alongside Christ, and suffer the scorn and disdain of being your disciple.
And fix our eyes on Christ, who has shown us that your Kingdom is breaking into this world. Give us a constant yearning to see all sicknesses healed, all demons cast out, all hunger fed, and all pain ended forever. Make us yearn for your kingdom to come, and give us hands and feet to help others see its coming as we take your message to the world.
Let your kingdom come, Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment