Thy will be done

In keeping with rabbinical tradition, Jesus' followers wanted him to teach them to pray.  The Messiah obliged.  He taught them a model prayer.  Many have turned it into a meaningless mantra, but the Master gave them a framework upon which they might build their communication to the God of the universe.  It's an extraordinary prayer which helps the servant of Christ rightly order his life before God and rightly order his life with the world around him.  A couple sections really yank the leash of the self-righteous (i.e. me), and one of them has been throbbing in my temples of late.

Thy will be done.

Translated into 2010 English, "Hey, whatever you want to do is good by me."

Whoa!  Hey--um--whoa!  Thy will be done?!?  You might begin to imagine giving your kid the keys to the car and saying, "Whatever," or maybe telling your boss that you'll take on any project at any time and work as many hours as he needs you to work for the exact same wage.  Do visions of indentured servitude dance in your head?  You mean giving God free rein in your life to do with as he pleases?  Isn't that risky?

To the last two questions, Yes and Yes.

From the day of his first rebellion against God (Genesis 3), man has tried to put himself in the place of the One who created him.  We want to establish ourselves as autonomous in our lives.  We believe we know what's best for us, and frankly we don't need you or anyone else telling us how to manage our beeswax.  That only serves to drive a wedge deeper into the chasm that exists between God and ourselves.

The only solution to that rift is the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross.  Until he comes to reign upon the earth (Revelation 20), we can find reconciliation to God, but even with that, we still struggle against our innate desire to take his throne for ourselves. 

So why bother with "Thy will be done?"  Trust.  As those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, do we really trust him?  Lots of folks like the term "faith," but it has been so abused as to have been rendered meaningless, no more substantial than wishing on a rabbit's foot.  Trust implies acting upon someone or something that has proven itself to us in the past.  A pilot may don a parachute though he has never used one because he has seen them work in the past.  He trusts the parachute to rescue him should disaster strike.  To submit ourselves to God's will indicates a trust in the One who has proven himself worthy of trust.

He says he loves us.  Has he born that out?  "For God so loved the world (there's the assertion) that he gave his only Son (there's the proof of that assertion) that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (there's the call for trust)."  John 3:16.

The pages of the Bible bear out that "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose" in example after example.  It also bears out the darkness that follows those who stand opposed to him. 

What happens, though, if after giving God the reins of my life, I encounter crippling disaster?  And then a few miles later, we get smashed in the mouth with another catastrophe?  Do we take the reins back?  Do we reject him altogether?  Or as Job did, even though disaster befall us, will we still trust God (Job 13:15, 1:20-22)?  Despite his pleas and despite getting an audience with the Almighty, Job never got an answer to the why's of his predicaments.  He received a call to anchor himself to the One who ordered the cosmos.

What will befall me should I cede control of my life to my Creator?  I don't know.  Prosperity?  No guarantees.  Trauma?  No promises.  Will I know a joy and peace heretofore unknown?  Those are promised (joy and peace).  Will I have intimate fellowship with my God?  Yep (John 17:3).

I do know that the world stands in rebellion against God until the day of its restoration through the King of kings.  Because of that, a fallen world can and will strike without warning.  Since God has proven himself always faithful (semper fidelis), I will trust in him today. 

Should the sky darken in the west tomorrow, I pray today that he will give me the strength to continue to bow before him and plead, "Thy will be done."