on earth as it is in heaven

yesterday i was thinking again about the phrase "on earth as it is in heaven." i had read somewhere once that all too often we flip it around and expect God to act in heaven as it is on earth. i have been catching a lot of that wrong-way thinking lately... i muck something up and ask aloud, "Lord, if i ask You to forgive me right now, would You *really* do it, no questions asked? would You believe me, even beyond my honest realizations that i will probably mess up again, even unintentially?" and i find myself not really believing that He really forgives without having that sour aftertaste or begrudging hurt.. and see, i think that, because i know myself and figure that if someone repeatedly hurt me over and over like i hurt Him, i would feel skeptical & suspicious & desiring to buffer myself from further hurt because... thus is human nature. but God isn't bound by human nature. Jesus, even as a man, was not bound by His humanity in that way.

but i find it hard to accept just as i have learned to never believe that something that sounds too good to be true would actually be so.. and haven't we learned that well? freebies always have a catch and so here we wait for the "catch"... that is certainly part of the reason why God's free gift is so neglected by the general public. all "street smart" people know that you just can't trust something that sounds unrealistically good. and by realistic that means tracking with all we've experienced in our lives.. which is pain, and rejection, and being taken advantage of, or used or manipulated... even by those we love tremendously, or who we know love us.

and so it is difficult to jump our own logic into the realm of faith in something truly unseen. we may see glimpses of kindness reminiscent of God, but it is only as a reflection, as I Corin says... someday we shall see Goodness face to face. the question is: will we believe now in the Hoped for and enjoy the riches of obedience in the present age? or just bow compulsoraly with all of creation at the end because what is true remains true?

and from hebrews 11, (if i recall correctly) "faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see..."