Week 5, day 2: When do parents say yes and no?

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NIV)

“may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Good News)

This week’s thoughts are from the Watts family - parents Jen and Rick with children Abbie and Nathan.

Rick and Nathan say:

When I asked Nathan what came into his mind when we said ‘kingdom’, he proceeded to list all the board and video games we have with ‘kingdom’ in the title. (To be honest I had similar thoughts, I wonder where he gets it from…)

We discussed how ‘kingdom building’ in these games is about looking to build the best kingdom for yourself, and often this means taking territory and resources away from other players. However, God’s kingdom is for everyone’s benefit.

Abbie says:

We want heaven to come down to earth so everyone on earth gets to experience heaven.

Jen says:

This line reminds us that just because God has the power to change any situation, he won’t necessarily act. As children, we can ask him for good things, but any good parent knows that sometimes what their children want is not what’s best for them, even if the child is too young to understand why.

When my kids ask for snacks, my answer will change from day to day, even though they’re asking for the same thing. I might gladly offer a snack at 4pm when dinner will not be until 6pm but will deny them snacks when dinner is in only half an hour’s time.

The last part of this reminds us that there is a greater hope to come. As we pray, we can call heaven down onto earth and make earth more like heaven. One day, we won’t have to do this, because we will already be in heaven.