When “On Earth as It Is in Heaven” Becomes More Than a Prayer

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Why Jesus meant those words to reshape how we treat the hungry, the outsider, and the dehumanized

Jesus taught us to pray,“On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

That wasn’t poetry. It was an assignment.

Because if Heaven is the standard, then some things become painfully clear.

There’s no hunger in Heaven. (“They will never hunger again…” – Revelation 7:16)

No sickness. (“There will be no more pain.” – Revelation 21:4)

No disposable people. No outsiders. No ethnic hierarchy. (“Every nation, tribe, people, and language.” – Revelation 7:9)

No moral caste system. No “us vs. them.” No division.

Just love. Belonging. Unity. Grace. And a whole lot of redeemed sinners standing shoulder to shoulder.(Ephesians 2:8–9)

So when Christians pray that prayer—while defending movements and ideologies that keep people hungry, discarded, excluded, or dehumanized…

They’re not being faithful. They’re being performative.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”—Jesus (Matthew 15:8)

Jesus didn’t teach us to pray this so we could sound spiritual while staying comfortable.

He taught it because God’s will done in Heaven is the very thing He told us to pursue on Earth.

That’s why Jesus fed the hungry. Healed the sick. Touched the outcast. Welcomed the foreigner. And said whatever we do for “the least of these,” we do for Him. (Matthew 25:35–40)

If God’s will is done perfectly in Heaven, then anything that contradicts that reality on Earth is something followers of Jesus are called to confront.

Not someday. Now.

The uncomfortable truth is this: If we actually meant that prayer, our priorities would look very different.

And yes, our politics would look very different.

And maybe the problem isn’t that Heaven is unclear.

It’s that some Christians don’t really want Earth to resemble it.