The Word and The World

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.

“1 The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it…

10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.” – Psalm 24:1,10

Somehow, it seems fitting to me that the Lord’s Prayer closes with a strong reaffirmation that we are God’s. It is a reaffirmation that God is the King of all and ruler of the universe.

We, who are but mere children before God, have nothing and are nothing except for God’s mercy and grace. On our own we are incapable of earning God’s favor. But, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, we have an audience before God. We are given access to God and God’s love. It is unlimited access to unlimited love.

Amen, or “So be it” is all we can say to this wonder of wonders. You and I are favored to be recipients of God’s blessings and we are aware of this favor. We are also aware that the same blessing is offered and given to all, but not all are aware of it.

The challenge is remain aware of who we are and whose we are. We must acknowledge our place before God and ensure that others are aware of the mercies and grace they too receive from God Almighty. This is our task and our blessing. Amen – so be it!

Lord of all, we are your children and your servants. All we have and hope to be is a gift from you and we are grateful. Bless and encourage us as we share the Good News of life as your children today. This we ask in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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And lead us not in to temptation, but deliver us from evil…

1 Corinthians 14:20b “In regard to evil, be infants, but in your thinking be adults.”

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me.”

One of the best known prayers in all of Christianity is the Lord’s Prayer. It has been said that one could meditate on its intricacies for years and grown deeper in faith each day. I have always been intrigued by the phrase, “…deliver us from evil…” The passages above seemed to lead me in my reflections on this important phrase.

How are we to be like children in regard to evil? Perhaps the question is more one of ensuring that we are not practicing evil, simply because we are told it is wrong. When we were children we obeyed and followed the direction of parents, teachers and others without question. It was a matter of trust.

Perhaps that is what we need to be about today, trusting God and the Bible when it identifies something as evil, or sinful. Not going blindly without thought or reason, but taking seriously biblical admonitions and studying carefully the issue before we decide, “That no longer applies.”

Then I believe we would be like a child in regard to evil, not truly knowing it or worrying about it but living in the good. Yet, we are to think like adults. We are to think through those actions that are wrong and recognize that evil does exist.

We must also recognize that not everyone is good. Some are truly evil or insidiously so. During the time the SALT II treaty was implemented, Ronald Regan was quoted, “Trust everyone, but verify.”

We too must do what we can to protect others from evil. We can trust others to behave properly, but still have in place safeguards and consequences to protect society from those who are truly evil. We cannot live in a vacuum and erroneously believe that everyone is good. Yet we must always urge ourselves and others to turn from evil to God’s ways; even as we protect our selves and seek to reform our ways to bring our lives into accord with God’s will.

Merciful God, we are all sinners of your redeeming. Help us Lord, deliver us from evil and guide us as we seek to be children, with a clear sense of right and wrong in our lives. Grant us the reasoning of adults to make good choices in our lives. This we ask in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

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