Thoughts by CARadke on
Devotions for the Man in the Mirror
by Patrick Morley

1. The Kingdom; Temporal Kingdoms

The first chapters of the Devotions focus on surrender, and Morley begins this one with Christ's prayer, "Your kingdom come, your will be done."

The way that we say things can make a tremendous difference to the message that is heard. Many of us smile when we think of Rev. Anthony Webster leading the congregation in reciting the Apostles' Creed, "HE AROSE from the dead." I can still hear it in my mind.

I have also enjoyed hearing Dr. Cambre leading the congregation in the Lord's Prayer. He says it the way that it is written. In the middle where it says "Thy will be done on earth" there is no period. There is no comma. There is no punctuation in that phrase at all. It means what it says. Thy will be done ON EARTH. That means here. That means now. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done here and now, just like it is in heaven.

Morley observes that the vacation cottages of some of the richest, most influential people of the 20th century now stand in ruins. Less than a century later, these pieces of their temporal "kingdoms" are nothing more than curiosities. They will probably be completely forgotten after another century has passed.

Compare the "power and influence" of those kingdoms to the Kingdom that Jesus prayed for. Here we are 2,000 years later and we still experience the power of Christ over our lives. His influence on earth hasn't disappeared. His reign in heaven continues. Nothing else compares to it.

Surrendering our "kingdoms" to Christ is hardly significant when we begin to understand that it lets us become a part of the eternal Kingdom. It's time to surrender, gentlemen!

Dear Lord, I surrender myself and my little kingdom to you. As I surrender to your perfect will, may your will be done on earth today through me. When I fail to surrender completely, may your will be done on earth today in spite of me. Open my heart and my eyes to your Kingdom, and let me share it with those around me, just as you share it with me. Amen.

Grace and peace--
CARadke


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