[Monday's Devotional] - Your Will Be Done on Earth

Your Will Be Done on Earth I'm writing this just after the General Election has been called. By the time you read it, we will be well down the road. Are issues, other than Brexit, being debated?  Where is the media putting emphasis and on whom? I hope that among the banter and the detail, there is some semblance of concern for aspirations about 'the kind of society and communities' in which we want to live.  How do we want to interpret the words of Jesus's prayer that: 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven'? Matthew 6:10 [TNIV] We will each have views about the reasons for the referendum result last June, but most agree that a significant feature of any explanation is the sense of exclusion and alienation felt by many people.  Loss of stable employment, benefit restrictions and poverty are part of most explanations offered by academics and observers. How might we integrate our thinking about contemporary society with our reflections on the Kingdom of God and the future that God has in store for his creation in a renewed heaven and earth?  Admitting that it's a mystery is no bad place to start.  Let's acknowledge that answers to this question will not automatically provide the detail of political programmes for our age. Nevertheless, many followers of Jesus have argued over the centuries that, for them, the foundations and structures of our politics should be developed in relation to Biblical narratives of Israel, Jesus, Kingdom and church. One writer has captured these themes by suggesting that there is a need in our day and age for Christians to strive for a 'Recovery of the Lost Bequest'.  Through the story of Israel, especially as they lingered in the desert after fleeing Egypt and moved into the 'promised land', we see how God wanted his people to live.  Are there principles to be gleaned that can help us develop a perspective on the kind of society appropriate for our world three thousand years later? This week we will look at a few notions that might help us to think, reflect and pray. Richard Farnell           Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!