Editorials
thy kingdom come , thy will be done
When we say the Lord ’ s Prayer we express our hope for what will be . We should also see this daily prayer as a personal commitment .
Praying that the Lord ’ s kingdom come and His will be done – “ as in heaven , so upon the earth ” – may seem almost an empty wish . We see so little of heaven in the world around us . We see so much happening every day that cannot be God ’ s will . But surely it is not hopeless . We see good people everywhere standing against evil and living good lives . But our history is rife with “ stiff-necked people .” Our culture is awash in self-indulgence . What can we as a small church – and as individuals – do to give hope to our prayer ?
We know that “ God loves each and every human being ; and because He cannot do good to them directly , but only indirectly by means of other people , He therefore breathes into people His love .” ( True Christianity 457 )
He is working through each one of us to increase His presence in the world . His kingdom is our kingdom , if we seek first to establish it in our own hearts and minds .
So , we all have a role in bringing His kingdom and His will into the world . It all starts with our personal regeneration .
Regeneration is a concept almost unique to the New Church . It is not seen as a moment of instantaneous salvation but as a lifelong process of living the life of religion . That means looking to the Lord , shunning evils as sins against Him , and living for use and charity in all we do . Part of the process also is combatting temptation , which can seem overwhelming at times . But we have the Lord ’ s calm assurance that His yoke is easy and that living the life of heaven is not as difficult as we might imagine .
The struggle is not as bleak as some might fear : full of conflict , suffering and gloom , with no reward until it is all over . States of temptation come and go ; they are not constant . And along the way we catch glimpses of heaven that energize our quest . Indeed , the Lord assures us that the regenerating life – while it does have conflict and combat – is ultimately a happy process .
Indeed , we are hardly aware of the countless ways the Lord is purifying our internal nature , drawing out and separating what is in our will and understanding that can be bent toward His good and truth – toward heaven .
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