One of the most exciting, but frustrating realities is that Christians are obsessed in doing exactly the opposite of what Jesus taught. Christians aspire to go to Heaven while God’s mission is to save the world. What is given in Matthew 6:9-12 is traditionally regarded as “Lord’s Prayer.”
This confirms that Christians do not like the earth, while God loves the earth; hence the Lord’s prayer is not associated with them. Christians desire to be taken out of this evil world, so that they can enjoy good life in Heaven. This flight mode is displayed among Zimbabweans, having fled the country to secure good living in the Diaspora.
Christians condemn this sinful world and some of them even wish God could destroy all the evil people. But, as we analyze this prayer, being the most important activity on earth, God says Christians ought to pray thus: “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus gave this prayer to be used by Christians, as allowing God’s will to manifest in their lives. Why?
God loves this world so much that He gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16). Christians hate this world so much that they want to go to Heaven. The prayer of an average Christian today is known to be personal, desiring to receive personal blessings, without regard for other people.
But Jesus’ instruction on His prayer model is inclusive of other fellow humans, as focusing on God’s Kingdom to come on earth. The prayer is pluralistic in nature. But Christians dream of leaving earth as fast as possible towards Heaven. God doesn’t want anyone in Heaven, as Jesus will come to fully establish God’s Kingdom here on Earth.
But to fully understand God’s mission, we have to first appreciate that a human being was created to have dominion over the earth and its creatures:
“Let us make man in our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26) ESV.
The prayer model is designed for Christians to grant God permission to exercise His will through their bodies, so that the lost dominion can be re-established. God cannot exercise His dominion on earth, when that legal right is bestowed on human beings. He cannot interfere in worldly affairs, without being granted permission by humans themselves. This is what is misunderstood by most Christians.
A human being is a spirit (God’s image) occupying the mud, or dirt, that the person would eventually have to renounce at what is called death. This is why it is not only morally wrong, but also foolish, to categorize humans according to the color of their skins. The spirit does not die. Death is actually a departure from the mud that the person would be occupying.
The legality of having dominion on earth is bestowed on physical humans. Without the physical nature, humans would also be legally unqualified to have dominion on earth, just as Satan is legally unqualified. Even God is not legally qualified to have dominion, outside the physical body.
If God were to dominate in worldly affairs, without using humans, He would be violating His own law, as declared in Genesis 1:26. This is why God couldn’t stop Eve from dabbling with Satan, leading to the known conundrums of the human race.
In the Old Testament, God used prophets to interfere in world affairs. Instead of directly dealing with whatever would be problematic, He used prophets. God could have directly dealt with Pharaoh, Himself, to take the Israelites out of Egypt. But that would have been violating His own law, which is impossible with God. He had to find a human being in the mould of Moses.
God could not do anything without Moses. But Moses could also not do anything without God. In the same way, today, it is not possible for God to do anything to interfere in worldly affairs, without the co-operation of those accepting Him as their personal savior.
Those accepting Christ’s Lordship can choose to offer their bodies to be used by God as His temple, (2 Corinthians 6:16). The prayer model is not asking for God’s favors, but designed for the Lord to perform His will on earth as it is in Heaven, through the petitioner. Humans deny God to perform His will in their lives. They desire that their own will be done on earth as it is on earth, instead. God patiently waits, due to His unfailing love (Revelation 3:20).
The word of God is supreme and cannot be changed, even by God himself. Humans were given dominion on earth. What this means is that Satan and his demons have no legal right to have dominion on the earth. But Satan managed to access that right through the known deception at the Garden of Eden.
The demons cannot operate without human bodies. In the same way, only the human bodies are necessary to access God’s power, with which to cast those demons out. God needs human beings to do His work of saving humanity on earth. Without God, human beings are helpless. God needs to operate his will for the desirable things to manifest on earth, using those willing to offer their lives to Him.
The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation was basically to acquire the legal right to interfere in worldly affairs. Through Jesus, God managed to restore the lost Kingdom. God had to exist within the same mud that humans existed. He was both the Son of God and the Son of man, enabling us the chance to recover our status as God’s children, created in God’s image.
The promise of Jesus was actually pronounced at the Garden of Eden when God was cursing the serpent, after the deception incident: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” Genesis 3:15) (ESV)
All Old Testament scriptures point at the promise of the Messiah, as highlighted by Isaiah, culminating in what finally happened at Bethlehem of Judea: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Unfortunately, Christians use prayer as tool to manipulate God to perform one’s own will, not God’s will. For instance, even young children are encouraged to pray so as to pass examinations. It is one thing to ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. But, it is quite another to seek God’s miraculous powers to achieve one’s own wishes. Of course, Jesus said we were free to ask anything in His name, but in alignment with His own will.
Most people are unaware that Satan also carries power as well. There are so many things attributed to God, yet being supplied by Satan (Matthew 4:8-9). Most of those who take comfort in what they call God’s blessings, could, therefore, be worshiping another god, without realizing it (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
I suppose even prostitutes ask for God’s intervention in their illicit trade, so that their clients pay them well? This is just as we often see opposing foot-ball teams taking time to pray for match results to come our in their favor. The big question is on whether the losing side would then thank God for the negative results, if going by the pre-requisite of prayer model? “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
My prayer is that God grants all Christians to appreciate that all evil is associated with self-centredness, while goodness is associated with altruism.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing reliefs to those having witnessed strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long awaited providential oasis of hope.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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