How Is God's Will Relevant In Today's World?

I asked my most attentive reader to give me some ideas to write about.  She did!  I will take her suggestions in parts.

1) “My thoughts relate to how to take the messages into today’s living.”   

I will, as always, refer to the message that Jesus came to tell us about God’s Will.   And I can safely say that any, and all, of Jesus’ teaching can and do relate to any age in history.   I say this because all of his teachings are just basic everyday rules of thumb.  The things we all learned early on in our  childhood development.  

The only confusion, about Jesus’ teaching, may be the parables. It is in those stories that the context and culture of ancient time could become unclear.  At the same time, I might have to disagree with myself.  Because all of Jesus’ parables are not so uncommon issues in todays world. 

We just need to think a bit harder as to the connection between the then common cultural differences and the actual point being made.

2) “Your solution of prayer reminds me to breathe in peace and be thoughtful (prayerful) and aware each day.  A fine place to begin a day.”

Prayer, whether done in the quiet of the morning, or when driving the car, or in the midst of a heated conversation, or walking in the woods on a sunny afternoon is always good.  I will actually say, it is smart.

No matter the culture, context, language nor the time in history that you live; prayers is something that can ground you and quiet your muddled mind.  At least that is what it does for me.  

Prayer always reminds me that God is in the mix of life.  No matter if I am praying for someone else, or the world situation, or personal decision my prayer always ends:  “Only your will be done.”   

Another prayer I consistently use is: “Thank You.”  Thank You reminds me that, no matter what happens, God will take care of creating order out of the confusion.  Thank You, because I know that God is so much wiser than me. 

Prayer is my source of strength.

3) “Perhaps my challenge is that I believe God has given us (me) some responsibility.”

Well, I would agree.  God has indeed given you some responsibility.  He gives all of us responsibility.  We have the explicit responsibility of caring for the earth — all of creation — our neighbor,  our environment, our thinking and opinions, our actions just to name a few. 

I you want to use the first chapter of Genesis as a guide.   God made the human, male and female, to take care of everything God had made.  That is a huge order to fill.  

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened (Genesis 1)

Jesus told of our responsibility in this way:  

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.(John 14)

The trick is for us to figure our what our particular job is.  

That is, we have all been given one or two specific gifts, to use specifically, for actively living in the world, as God asks.

We are not expected to be proficient in every thing needed.  

What I often invite people to do is to think about the thing, or things, that come quite naturally to them.  Things they don’t think of as all that special.  Those are usually the gifts God has given us to do the work needed.