C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity, wrote in his chapter on Hope - "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in: aim at earth and you will get neither." The point Lewis made is that most people will do little more than survive day to day living unless there is a hope grounded in something larger than their current reality. In fact, Lewis states that the Christians who did the most for the present world were those "who thought most of the next." Perhaps motivation may have come from the Lord's prayer they learned saying, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Because they had a vision that God wanted this world to become they worked to help make this world a reflection of God's kingdom in heaven.
The early Christians had a hope for a better world because they aimed for a way of living that transcended the disappointments of their earth. Think about people you know this week who have had lives rippled by disappointments on this earth; the disappointment of an unexpected loss, the disappointment of broken family ties, the disappointment of friends gone astray. In moments like this we need to remember the words of the hymn - "what a friend we have in Jesus, what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer." The words of this hymn serve to remind us that there is a difference we can make in the lives of others when we pray for them. Prayer is one of the ways we extend hope, even when we cannot see hope in the circumstance.
This week, aim for heaven by praying that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Do remember, it's a prayer; and even when we face situations that are beyond our control, we can always pray. Prayer is powerful and your prayers can help instill hope in another person, not because you tell them you are praying for them, but because you pray for them. How does that work? I don't know. I just know that prayer calls us to look beyond the trials of this earth and into the hope that lies on the other side of prayer. The hope of heaven is established in prayer, as we pray for a better world. Perhaps James is right when he writes, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." - James 5:16 Let us pray so that others will have hope.
Dennis
