We had a thunderstorm last weekend, but it wasn't until a couple of days later that I realized some of the damage that had been done. We were driving home and saw this tree by our neighborhood pool.
Wow. At first, we thought that the wind had just twisted the branch down, but on closer look, we are pretty sure it was lightning. The bark of the tree had been stripped clean and blown across the parking lot, and we could see where the bolt had traveled through the ground and even popped a root out of place several yards away.
It takes a lot of raw power to do that, power that is certainly embodied in a bolt of lightning. It is awe-inspiring, especially when you think about the fact that such power, when it encounters something on earth, is nothing but destructive. Sure, we have learned to harness electricity and turn it into something useful. But the raw power of a bolt of lightning can only destroy, not build up.
The Bible has a lot to say about power, specifically about how it relates to God. We read that God is all-powerful and that we can see his power clearly in Creation, as well as in the miracles that He has done throughout history - climaxing, of course, in the resurrection of Jesus. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote about "the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (Eph. 1:19-21). Can you imagine the power it took to raise the body of Jesus from the dead? Not power to destroy, but power to give life in place of death!
What is even more mind-boggling, though, is the verse that comes before this one:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Did you catch that promise? Along with hope and an inheritance, he has given great power to us who believe and trust in Jesus as our Savior. And when you read how those verses are connected, you will see this phrase: "That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead..."
The Bible has a lot to say about power, specifically about how it relates to God. We read that God is all-powerful and that we can see his power clearly in Creation, as well as in the miracles that He has done throughout history - climaxing, of course, in the resurrection of Jesus. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote about "the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (Eph. 1:19-21). Can you imagine the power it took to raise the body of Jesus from the dead? Not power to destroy, but power to give life in place of death!
What is even more mind-boggling, though, is the verse that comes before this one:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19)
Did you catch that promise? Along with hope and an inheritance, he has given great power to us who believe and trust in Jesus as our Savior. And when you read how those verses are connected, you will see this phrase: "That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead..."
Whoa. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to me as a believer in Jesus? THAT power? Way more than a bolt of lightning that can only destroy - this is God's power for life! And where does that power come from? The book of Acts reveals that in Jesus' promise: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8). The power we need for living comes from the Holy Spirit who is given to us when we trust Jesus for salvation. It is power to enable us to be witnesses for Him and to make righteous choices in our everyday lives.
That is what I try to focus on when I am talking with my children about the choices they make. Right now, those choices are small and fairly inconsequential outside our home - how they talk to one another, how they treat each other, how they use their time, whether they are honest with us - but in time those will have greater consequences in the larger world. I want them to know that when it is hard to choose the righteous, God-pleasing path (not if, but when, because it just is), they shouldn't - and can't - do it on their own, but can ask the Holy Spirit to give them the power to choose rightly.
It's something I need to remember daily, too, when I lose my patience with them or with my husband or anything else in life. God's power in me, for life and healing and righteousness - is greater than anything else - even greater than the raw power in a bolt of lightning.
It's something I need to remember daily, too, when I lose my patience with them or with my husband or anything else in life. God's power in me, for life and healing and righteousness - is greater than anything else - even greater than the raw power in a bolt of lightning.
RSS Feed
