Heaven and Earth

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [Genesis 1.1]

I just never get tired of this... Every time I read this, something else stands out to me. How amazing is God's Word!

In the verse above, for the first time I can recall, I saw "the heavens and the earth" as it relates to the following scriptures:

May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6.10]

It is further interesting the use of words in this verse as well:

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. [Matthew 28.18]

In the beginning, God made a distinction between heaven and earth. And, if you will, God retained heaven as His domain and delegated earth as man's domain.

Of course man blew it, but in God's infinite wisdom He knew that to really be in fellowship with His created man, man had to have a say in the matter - a choice. Well, more correctly, "choices." As already stated, man blew his first choice. God designed it though where there would be continual choices going forward and those are seen throughout the record of the Bible. Man's choices either take him deeper into fellowship with God or take him further away.

It was man's choices that got the earth into a fallen state of affairs. Man's failure to understand his role in his assigned domain began millenniums of decay and deterioration. But it was God's forethought that had a brilliant plan of redemption!

May the Lord enlighten our eyes this year to these domains - God's and ours - and how Jesus revealed that the Kingdom of God envelops both heaven and earth and that man still has an important role on earth.

Father, help me to grow in my understanding of Your Kingdom this year!