Renowned Christian thinker, G.K. Chesterton, once said, “A saint is one who exaggerates what the world neglects.” The world has become negligent about bowing before God. It does not revere him as Deliverer, Provider, or as Father. Governments and schools no longer acknowledge the Lord’s Prayer as an appropriate invocation.
Since we can never fully grasp the great cost at which our God purchased us, we can never truly exaggerate it. However, when we accept the exchange of his life for ours, we join a very large multi-lingual, intercultural family. We belong to him. He now belongs to us, too, as Lord and Father.
The Lord’s Prayer is for us now, at this time in history, as much as it was 2000 years ago. It’s for the family of God on earth and it foreshadows our community in heaven. Note that the prayer does not use the pronouns “I, me, and mine.” This prayer is not just a pattern for individual prayer. It's a communal prayer to petition God for what we need as his adopted family — food, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil.
Belonging to God’s family can be a gentle rain on the desert of our loneliness. God, our Father, is ours because we are not the only believer left on earth. No matter how alone we may feel, we know that there are many others who worship Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Our God and Father, may we receive your mercy to live as saints, to attend to what really matters, and to magnify your Holy Name in our generation. Amen.
Go Deeper – Read the Lord’s Prayer out loud, this time praying as one of the family of believers, not just as yourself. Do you get a different understanding?
Photo Credit: Toa Heftiba