Most of us woke up this morning ready to live just another day as we've done before; most of us went about business as usual.
We made our bed or didn't; we hopped in the shower to begin the day; we ate our breakfast and drank our coffee; we ushered ourself off into the world of busy busy things of great importance, matters of consequence.
Our minds swirled with thoughts of many things; our minds quickly began to plan our next move not unlike a chess master always seeking to keep our king from checkmate all the while seeking to check mate the world, aligning our pawns in to position seeking to get ahead, always getting further ahead.
We keep both eyes on the world and turn a blind eye to God.
And then tragedy comes; our life is in check and the game we have played seemingly well, planning and strategizing, is now in jeopardy. We are on the verge of checkmate.
"If only..." becomes our phrase of choice. If only we spent more time with them; if only we would have studied; if only we would have told her we loved her; if only we would have made more time to visit; "if only" fills the mind.
The one thing we take for granted is the time we have and time we do not have. James reminds us how quickly it all fades. We discover that what we thought were matters of consequence were trivial and what was trivial was truly the only matter of Consequence.
The Will of God truly enables us to keep all things in perspective and allows our judgments on what should be planned to give way to what God has planned for us: If God wills it then we do it and life is enriched and meaningful.
The will of God keeps us from a life of alienation and isolation; it keeps us from withdrawing in and forces us to reach out: love your neighbor as yourself; do good to those who hurt you, bless those who curse you; love your enemies; forgive us as we forgive others.
"If only I would have..." gives way to "only if God wills..." then truly we understand "blessed are the poor in Spirit, the kingdom of Heaven is theirs."
Thus, "on earth as it is in heaven" becomes not just a phrase in a prayer but a driving force that keeps us in check, keeps us in focus, keeps us attentive to the matter of consequence of now.
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