Power!

Christ, the Power of God, is our focus today.  When we accept the precious gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, we actually receive God Himself into the clay jar of our human life!  Eternal life is not just a gift from God; it is the gift of God Himself: what an exciting distinction!  Our weak, frail bodies become a receptacle for the life-giving, life-transforming Power of God.  I find great comfort in understanding that the weakness of my clay is the key to releasing eternal Power into the world!

We love to feel strong…to feel that we understand this Christian life and are on the way to Victorious Living!  Our human nature glories in strength.  We do not want to be needy; we want to be strong and independent.  Yet, life has many ways of humbling us.  Glory to God, that weakness is the key to receiving His abundant generosity and releasing His Power in our lives and others. 

The grace of God is always the joyful companion of the Power of God.  We must receive from Him; our strength is a barrier to His generous grace.  Only when we are broken and emptied of strength, do we begin to see the glory of receiving from Him.  As we see the hope-filled potential of His Power, we become willing to release not only our weaknesses but also our strengths to Him.  Submitting to the Power of God allows His life-giving Power to flow in and through us.

God Himself shows us the power of submission.  It is a nearly incomprehensible truth that the Creator of the Universe subjects Himself—His power--to us, to fallen humanity.  He subjects Himself to our will both before and after salvation.  Each soul has the privilege of accepting the gift of God—or not.  After that choice, we have a continual choice:  our power or the Power.  That choice is ours only because Jesus made the choice to submit to persecution and death that He might become our Power.  Despite our personal records of failure and rebellion, God willingly chooses to submit and entrust His Power to our care!

God chooses to submit Himself to us because He knows that our weakness is the best showcase for His Power!  Our weaknesses are never to be an excuse for failing to live with Power.  Instead, they are a doorway for the life-giving Power of God to flow forth!   The Power which conquered death—the Power which restored life to our Savior’s beaten and crucified body—lives with you and I!  He, the Power, waits within us ready to meet every challenge we face.  His Power surges in us, longing to break out and make our lives a fruitful, sustaining garden for others.   All earthly power is limited and eventually ends in death.  Let us choose to submit our weaknesses—and our strengths--to His Power that we might become a wellspring of life in this dry land!