On Earth As It Is In Heaven
It’s early as I grab my coffee. I sit down and make my list of things to do today. Making a list always helps me: once the list is on paper, my brain can relax a little since it knows the paper is now responsible for remembering all the things. The list isn’t overly long today, so that is nice.
As I sit at the table making my list, I glance at yesterday’s paper. I find myself reading the headlines and some of the articles. My heart aches at the callousness with which we humans treat each other. My brain is not relaxed any more as I read the ways in which we seem to be inventing new ways to hurt one another.
Lines from a William Wordsworth’s poem, long buried in my brain, surface now: The world is too much with us late and soon… Yes, sometimes it feels to me that the world is too much with us.
And yet… something else runs around the edges of my mind. I manage to slow my thoughts enough to catch it and I realize it’s joy. The world will always be too much with us, breaking our hearts and causing us worry. But joy is also with us if we pause to notice it.
Somewhere, right now, a baby is smiling its first smile at a parent and that parent’s heart is melting. Somewhere there is a cat curled up in a sunbeam taking a glorious nap. Even in this moment, the moon hangs in the dark morning sky, shining brilliantly. The sun rises and sets with colors so vivid we catch our breath in awe. Right now, someone is trying something new and discovering that not only do they like it, they are good at it! Someone is giving a friend a helping hand that will make all the difference in that friend’s day. Unbidden, a flower’s petals are unfurling into a marvel.
Can I see any of these things? Not with my eyes here and now in the kitchen with the light slowly easing into the sky. But in my mind and my heart, I know they are happening. I bet you can imagine these things occurring – and even more lovely things than I’ve listed!
God is still at work in our world. The headlines, news outlets, and even social media do not report on God’s work very well. They exist to tell you other things, many of which are necessary, and sometimes we can notice God’s work in there. But ultimately, their motive is views, profits, and clicks.
We are a people of God, and our motives are different because we are called to love God and love others. God does not leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5b). God is there in each kind act we do. God is present in moments of grace we give ourselves and others. God is always active in the world; we just forget to look or get wrapped up in distressing headlines. But when we look for the good and beautiful things in the world and the ways that we can be a part of those things, we partner with God in building God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
I fold up the newspaper and put it to the side. I look into my now empty coffee cup and glance at my list. It holds many things I need to do, but not quite all of them. I add “Notice joy” to it because I want to be more intentional about noticing God’s hand at work so that I can also be a part of the good things in our world.
May we all be a part of looking for God at work, and then joining with God to build God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
