On earth as it is in heaven

Matthew 6:1-24 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

⁵ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷ And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

⁹ “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

¹⁴ For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

¹⁶ “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

In today’s text Jesus says:  “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  ‘Give us this day our daily bread.  ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”    Far too often, in our culture and society, and sadly even in the church, we do the opposite of what Jesus says our prayer should be. Rather than seeking that it would be on earth as it is in heaven, we try to conform heaven to earth. Jesus says:  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”   How much are our lives focused on storing up treasure on earth? We work all of our lives so that hopefully we can store up enough to live to the end of our lives. We often even neglect the true treasures that we have in the world. By serving wealth we allow the time that we have with our families to be taken from us. In Matthew 6:31-33 Jesus says: “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

It is a difficult thing for us though, living in this world, where everything costs so much money, to not get caught up in serving wealth. We are supposed to work and provide for our families. It is the right and righteous thing to do. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says:  When we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.  So, how do we balance God and wealth?  That we question how to balance is the problem. God is not to be balanced with anything else. He is to be our priority.  Perhaps because we have not sought righteousness and the kingdom of God as a nation, we will come to the point when the material things we have valued will no longer even be available to us. We have chosen to depend on the government for our daily bread rather than trusting God. Since we have not chosen God, God will allow us to reap the consequences of our choices. Many believe that the government can provide everything they need. The government though, has no source of wealth, except from the very people they govern. The government cannot produce wealth. That’s why they promote redistribution of wealth. Jesus says: ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.’   The heavenly model is described in Philippians 4:19 says:  God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Who will we trust to supply our needs, a bankrupt government or the creator of the universe, the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills?  In Psalm 37:4-5, the psalmist gives us the key to aligning with the kingdom of heaven.  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.  If we will put God first, delighting and trusting in Him, if we will commit to His will and His ways, our hearts will be aligned with His. If we will treasure the things of God in our hearts, we will have the treasures of God in our lives.

‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  ‘Give us this day our daily bread.  ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”