Jesus prayed it well, when He asked God: "Let Your kingdom come to earth and let Your will be done on earth JUST LIKE in heaven."
Are those the words of a madman, exposed too long to the middle-eastern sun? Were those the rantings of a philosophical poet, the whimsical kind?
Come on, wrestle with this!! What kind of prayer is this, really? If I struggle at all with the implications of this--just for my own life-- it causes me to say (with deep theological overtones), "Whoa, dude! That's heavy!"
You bet it is!
The notion of God's kingdom showing up on earth would pretty well change everything. Everything. But let's take just one thing. Just one: interpersonal relationships!
So, we have King God now ruling over each of your relationships; the good, bad and ugly ones. He first insists that you love one another (do you know that He never said change one another? Hmmm? Okay, I digress). So, every time you say or do or even think an unloving thought (about anyone)...zing! He calls you on it.
Why? Well, because He is King God. He gets to. And further, as king, He wants His will done among people on earth. The biggest part of His will is love. So, there ya go. Gotta love.
Imagine, then, that your enemy walks up, or your hateful neighbor, or the pastor who broke your heart through moral failure, or your ex-spouse, orrrrrrrrrrr.....(you're thinkin of someone right now, aren't you?) So, THAT person walks up.
You look around and God is all around. His eyes are on you. His Spirit is breathing hot within you, the vivid example of Jesus loving and forgiving and redeeming and extending Himself and laying down His life and all that....those examples are before you.
And so is that guy! That gal! And you have grown so fond of the grudge, the taste of stomach acid that rises at the sound of his/her name. And you have grown so comfortable with the chill of that stony place that occupies space, where a soft heart once beat. And you have learned to wield sarcasm like a knife. And you have learned to recite each reason you have stopped loving HIM...HER! You have the reasons cold (oooops, I already said 'cold,' ...about your heart) You have the reasons nailed.
And then Jesus, standing there, begins to pray over you: "God, bring your kingdom into this heart. Bring Your will into this relationship. Let a bit of heaven begin right here, right now, within this heart."
And oh, that one got ya. Vulnerability softens a spot in your defenses. Humility softens a spot in your heart. And the savior steps a bit closer and opens your fist and places His hand in yours and says, "I'll stay right here beside you. Do whatever you want to do."
And then He just looks at the person you hated, despised, rejected, withdrew from. Jesus just looks at him...at her.
And you crumble. In a heap. Right there on the ground. And then you pray:
"Oh God! Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done. IN MY HEART, just as it is in heaven."
And moment by moment, relationship by relationship, we declare His sovereignty, we accept His rule, we demonstrate His love....and HIS KINGDOM COMES! That'd really be sum-thin, huh?
But hey...maybe I'm just too idealistic!