The Power of Your Word (day 50)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.

And so we pray;

Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…

These words roll off the tongue so easily. Have we ever stopped to think about what they mean?

When someone from another country comes to the United States and wants to become a citizen, they are required to take an oath. We don’t think much about oaths any more but they are extremely serious matters.

In Judges 11 there is a story about a man named Jephthah who made an oath to God. In the end he had to sacrifice his only child to fulfill that oath. This is a very sad story. I cannot say he was right to make such an oath, but he took it very seriously. This is an example of just how serious oaths are intended to be.

The oath that people take when they want to become citizens includes the promise to abide by the laws of this country.

When I say, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” I am essentially taking an oath to conform my life to the laws of God’s kingdom. I always need grace to help fulfill any promise to do God’s will, especially since it is in direct opposition to my natural inclinations.

Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. But those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.  (Galatians 5:19-24)