Eden is in our hearts

Every time I complain, it is because I want a perfect place, a perfect situation, not just for me but for everyone. Every time I long for better things without complaining (which is a far better attitude), still I am longing for that perfection that was lost.

We lost Eden because of sin. Adam and Eve were put out of paradise because they disobeyed God. Their home had been a garden where all living things served them and they walked with God. Then they did the only thing God told them not to do, and that was the end of perfection.

Isn’t that perfection memory part of our genetic code? Whether we invent, create, complain, or simply hope, we want Eden back. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when taught His disciples about prayer.

When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come....” (Luke 11:2)

This is a prayer for the future. We are asking for the perfection we lost to come back, for Eden, but it is also a prayer for a King. When I pray it, I am asking God to reign on earth, that people acknowledge Him as King, that life is according to His commands. I’m not asking to be taken from here to heaven, but that heaven may come down to my world, and that my world becomes like it.

Those who are in darkness concerning the kingdom of God still long for a king. As today’s devotional says, the Israelites associated it with King David. The British perhaps look back to Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The peoples of the world long for a perfect leader, a ruler who will govern us in Eden-like perfection. Of course, there is no such perfection and as soon as we elect a new leader, we are disappointed in his or her decisions. The longing in our hearts is for Eden and a perfect king, but it isn’t being fulfilled. It cannot be until the kingdom of God comes and our King is Jesus. When that kingdom is established and that King is enthroned, we will experience a better Eden than the Eden we have lost.

True, God is King now and the world is His, but by creation mostly. Those who follow King Jesus know that others do not. These others are often as disgruntled with Him as they are with human leaders and authorities. They want perfection, but on their own terms. This is how sin works: “I want my own way.”

The Coming King loves us to death (literally), yet being a king means being in charge. If I am praying, “Thy kingdom come” I am asking Him to rule, not asking Him to give me an Eden where I am the boss. As long as I insist on being in charge, or at least having my way regardless of who is in charge, then I will not have Eden. My sinful selfishness will ruin it, just as Adam’s disobedience ruined the first Eden.

What makes the difference between having what I want and having the perfection of Eden? It is the love of God that knows and gives what is best for His subjects, but receiving it involves faith in His subjects. If I do not trust Him, then no matter what kind of world I live in, I will complain and want things done differently, supplied differently, organized differently. It was in perfection that Satan convinced Eve her life was not good enough without that forbidden fruit. Sin also convinces me that no matter what I have, it is never good enough.

Eden (and God’s kingdom) is about being content with the supply of God. Yes, there will be a future day and a future kingdom when and where that supply is without trial, sorrow, pain and sin, but even now — with the abundance of all those negatives — it is possible to taste Eden. I can do it, not by gaining perfection, but by being thankful for what I have because I trust the King, the One who has given it to me.

… for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11–13)

“Hallowed be Thy Name” means…?

Today’s devotional reading convicts me. Even though I’ve prayed the “Lord’s Prayer” hundreds of times in public and in private, I’ve failed so often to do the very first thing that Jesus instructs in this model prayer.

And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name...” (Luke 11:2)

Hallowing God’s name stands above all else. It comes first, before asking about daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. It is asking that God is given the glory due to His name, that the character of God made known in Jesus Christ is honored, respected, exalted. Today’s devotional rounds this out.

I hallow God’s name when I cherish worthy ideas of God. That is, if I think He is harsh or uncaring, rather than having true thoughts about Him, I am sinning against His name. The more that I know about God, the more I see of His grace and mercy and the more I realize that He is worthy of honor.

I also honor His name by trusting Him. If I complain about life or how God deals with me — as if He no longer loves me — I am dishonoring His character and forgetting that His nature is love and His name is Father. If I think He is unkind, I am forgetting Calvary and insulting His love. But if I trust Him no matter what is happening in my life, I am honoring His name. Yet so often, I grumble and act without relying on Him, failing to hallow His name.

The bottom line is that God’s name is hallowed by obedience. Profession without practice dishonors God. Prompt, total, and willing obedience honors Him. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34). For Him, obedience was His daily sustenance. Can I say the same thing?  

A big part of obedience is making God’s name known to those God puts across my path. Jesus set the example of hallowing the name of the Lord by making disciples and teaching them to do His will.

I (Jesus) have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:6)

I believe that God is worthy of honor, but this must be expressed by far more than outward respect, or praying, or singing praises. It means daily obedience in all of life, in my studio, at my desk, in the grocery story, with relatives and friends by my words and deeds. It means honoring Him even when I’m alone by having God-pleasing thoughts and plans. To hallow His name means making His will my food and drink, my very life. 

God is my Father

From Genesis to Malachi there is no instance of an individual speaking of God as Father. Moses, Abraham, David or Isaiah did not use this name for God. It was the Son of God who told us we could say, “Father” when we turn to Him in our prayers and in our need.

And he said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come…’” (Luke 11:2)

I’ve been thinking about my earthly father this week, mostly about his sense of humor. He seemed always happy and quick to share funny stories with others. When I read this verse, I wondered if my heavenly Father enjoys laughter in the same way. I also thought how easy it is to attribute to God the same qualities of our earthly fathers, sometimes in grave error.

My dad was a good man who worked hard and loved people. He was generous to me, even spoiled me. For a long time, I thought God would do the same. My father was a smart person, but my heavenly Father is wiser and knows that what I want is not always the best choice for me, a lesson that took some time to learn!

Others struggle with thoughts of a father who was less kind, even cruel or abusive. How can a heavenly Father be thought of as loving and perfect when the word ‘father’ is filled with horrid connotations?  For some, this is an insurmountable learning curve.

Still, Jesus Christ told us to call God, “Father” because He wanted to bring sunshine into our souls and hope into our lives. He wanted us to know that God is more than wisdom, power, and justice, He is also relational, caring, protective, all things that a good father should be.

The devotional writer adds that God is Father to everybody, but not all are His children. Those created by His loving hand have gone astray. All became alienated from their true heritage by sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) 

Christ came into the world to reveal God as Father, but also to seek His lost children and bring us back home again in a new relationship. That is, whoever receives Jesus into their hearts also receives the Spirit of adoption and becomes a child of God by a new birth. In those, Christ lives, gives His life, becomes a brother. We speak the name Father with a new sense of relationship, one not the same as when He is acknowledged as Creator.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God… (Romans 8:14–16)

He is now “Abba” an ancient term that means “Daddy.” By calling Him Father, I acknowledge Him as my Creator, sustainer and source of both this life and the life to come. By calling Him Abba, I declare that He is far more than that.