God's will: that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We find this expressed in 1 Timothy 2:4. The question we need to ask ourselves in light of this passage (and others like it, such as 2 Peter 3:9) would be this: bes God sovereign in all things? In all things ultimately will His will be done, His complete and perfect will?
Granted the problem of theodicy leads us at times to question whether God does not defer a postulated "perfect will" for a postulated "permissive will" here and now during this temporal existence within this fallen world (and it can be argued that He never had anything in mind BUT the plan of salvation therefore REQUIRING a period of falling for this world) ... BUT no doubt at all should exist in anyone's mind who knows and believes in Jesus Christ that ultimately the one true perfect will of God WILL prevail and SHALL be done on earth as it bes done in Heaven.
In this surety of His complete and irrevocable victory over death and sin and evil, we place our hope and boldly proclaim thus: that if it bes HIS will for all to be saved, then ultimately one way or another, through the blood of Jesus Christ (the means HE has provided for salvation), all men WILL be saved. (This means YOU!) AND come to a knowledge of the truth. (THIS means you TOO!) Which truth includes the fact that all will be saved.
Why, then, do we pray "Thy will be done"? Because ultimately God's perfect will SHALL be done, and this perfect will includes and involves each and every one of us coming into UNITY in His Holy Spirit. NOT uniformity -- God does not ordain that all should think alike, dress alike, talk alike, or be cookie-cutter clones of some goody-two-shoes conservative churchianity template of one another -- but UNITY in the Spirit, our hearts and minds all centered and SET upon HIM as we move together in beautiful harmony to do the work He has placed in our hands to do.
When we pray "Thy will be done" we offer ourselves up to this Unity and join ourselves to it and to the Body of Christ which carries it. Because the other part of the equation involves the telos, the completion of the Mystery of God: the character of Jesus Christ being reproduced fully in each and every one of us who comes to Him for salvation, reconciliation and reclamation. This character found its fullest expression in willingly going to an ignoble, painful death for no less than His absolute enemies, the ones sending Him to that death, and everyone estranged in heart and mind, alienated from Him and His Love. So when that character bes reproduced in us who cling to Him it shall be no less than that we too will find ourselves willing to pour out our very eternal lives, if need be, for the sake of the lost, for the sake of the rebel and the reprobate, for the sake of the demonolator and the devil-worshiper, for the sake of the murderer and child-molester, even for the sake of Satan himself if any way could be found to save him.
God's will for the Christian bes to become a walking embodiment of the perfect love the Father manifested to us through Jesus Christ -- and nothing less!
When we pray "Thy will be done," implied in that prayer bes this one also: "Lord, make us willing to serve Your will, and to sacrifice everything, even our own eternal lives if need be, for the reclamation of those who refuse You." It will take nothing less to fully manifest and reify the glorious eschaton and bring this great divide and darkness to a close. You ready for this? No? Then let's GET ready!! Let's seek His face and fall on ours.
Granted the problem of theodicy leads us at times to question whether God does not defer a postulated "perfect will" for a postulated "permissive will" here and now during this temporal existence within this fallen world (and it can be argued that He never had anything in mind BUT the plan of salvation therefore REQUIRING a period of falling for this world) ... BUT no doubt at all should exist in anyone's mind who knows and believes in Jesus Christ that ultimately the one true perfect will of God WILL prevail and SHALL be done on earth as it bes done in Heaven.
In this surety of His complete and irrevocable victory over death and sin and evil, we place our hope and boldly proclaim thus: that if it bes HIS will for all to be saved, then ultimately one way or another, through the blood of Jesus Christ (the means HE has provided for salvation), all men WILL be saved. (This means YOU!) AND come to a knowledge of the truth. (THIS means you TOO!) Which truth includes the fact that all will be saved.
Why, then, do we pray "Thy will be done"? Because ultimately God's perfect will SHALL be done, and this perfect will includes and involves each and every one of us coming into UNITY in His Holy Spirit. NOT uniformity -- God does not ordain that all should think alike, dress alike, talk alike, or be cookie-cutter clones of some goody-two-shoes conservative churchianity template of one another -- but UNITY in the Spirit, our hearts and minds all centered and SET upon HIM as we move together in beautiful harmony to do the work He has placed in our hands to do.
When we pray "Thy will be done" we offer ourselves up to this Unity and join ourselves to it and to the Body of Christ which carries it. Because the other part of the equation involves the telos, the completion of the Mystery of God: the character of Jesus Christ being reproduced fully in each and every one of us who comes to Him for salvation, reconciliation and reclamation. This character found its fullest expression in willingly going to an ignoble, painful death for no less than His absolute enemies, the ones sending Him to that death, and everyone estranged in heart and mind, alienated from Him and His Love. So when that character bes reproduced in us who cling to Him it shall be no less than that we too will find ourselves willing to pour out our very eternal lives, if need be, for the sake of the lost, for the sake of the rebel and the reprobate, for the sake of the demonolator and the devil-worshiper, for the sake of the murderer and child-molester, even for the sake of Satan himself if any way could be found to save him.
God's will for the Christian bes to become a walking embodiment of the perfect love the Father manifested to us through Jesus Christ -- and nothing less!
When we pray "Thy will be done," implied in that prayer bes this one also: "Lord, make us willing to serve Your will, and to sacrifice everything, even our own eternal lives if need be, for the reclamation of those who refuse You." It will take nothing less to fully manifest and reify the glorious eschaton and bring this great divide and darkness to a close. You ready for this? No? Then let's GET ready!! Let's seek His face and fall on ours.
