In weakness
Mighty are those who obey his command (Joel 2:11)
Too often God's people are seen as weak. At college, rejecting God was seen by some as an act of power. Throw off the shackles of this outdated mythology and you will be great. Cast away the crutch of belief and stand on your own feet. I even heard the message of salvation described as an attempt to persuade people that they have a non-existent problem so that you can provide an unnecessary solution.
How refreshing is Joel's outlook. Mighty are those who obey God. Is this true?
I think it can reasonably be argued that rejecting God is an act of weakness as much as strength. Atheism is as much crutch as belief. Ignoring or rejecting God avoids the challenges of eternal significance as much as believing in him may provide comfort. A philosophy that rejects an underlying meaning to existence based on God seems to replace it with an almost endless array of alternative meanings. As GK Chesterton once put it, when people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything.
I think Joel's point is slightly different though. It is in the obedience that God's people find strength. As the Spirit says to Paul, my strength is made perfect in weakness. In our obedient struggles the power of God is most clearly seen, not in our mighty acts. It is through God's broken people that his light can shine out.
Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus joins Cleophas and his companion, quite possibly his wife, on the road to Emmaus. They do no recognise him when they see him for the first time. As they tell the story of his life, death and even resurrection, they still do not recognise him. When he teaches them about himself out of the scriptures, even then they do not recognise him. Suddenly as he breaks the bread, they see him for who really is and he is immediately taken from him. People have pondered often about why. The suggestions abound but I have a clear favourite. As he breaks the bread his wrists are exposed and they see the marks where the nails went through. Jesus is recognised not in his strength but in his weakness.
Jesus commands us to take up our cross and follow him; to turn the other cheek and not resist the evildoer; to love our enemies. Why? Because in these places of obedient weakness we are at our greatest strength, for there is God most visible and most present. So as we struggle and suffer, be encouraged, for he says to each of us, my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Too often God's people are seen as weak. At college, rejecting God was seen by some as an act of power. Throw off the shackles of this outdated mythology and you will be great. Cast away the crutch of belief and stand on your own feet. I even heard the message of salvation described as an attempt to persuade people that they have a non-existent problem so that you can provide an unnecessary solution.
How refreshing is Joel's outlook. Mighty are those who obey God. Is this true?
I think it can reasonably be argued that rejecting God is an act of weakness as much as strength. Atheism is as much crutch as belief. Ignoring or rejecting God avoids the challenges of eternal significance as much as believing in him may provide comfort. A philosophy that rejects an underlying meaning to existence based on God seems to replace it with an almost endless array of alternative meanings. As GK Chesterton once put it, when people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything.
I think Joel's point is slightly different though. It is in the obedience that God's people find strength. As the Spirit says to Paul, my strength is made perfect in weakness. In our obedient struggles the power of God is most clearly seen, not in our mighty acts. It is through God's broken people that his light can shine out.
Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus joins Cleophas and his companion, quite possibly his wife, on the road to Emmaus. They do no recognise him when they see him for the first time. As they tell the story of his life, death and even resurrection, they still do not recognise him. When he teaches them about himself out of the scriptures, even then they do not recognise him. Suddenly as he breaks the bread, they see him for who really is and he is immediately taken from him. People have pondered often about why. The suggestions abound but I have a clear favourite. As he breaks the bread his wrists are exposed and they see the marks where the nails went through. Jesus is recognised not in his strength but in his weakness.
Jesus commands us to take up our cross and follow him; to turn the other cheek and not resist the evildoer; to love our enemies. Why? Because in these places of obedient weakness we are at our greatest strength, for there is God most visible and most present. So as we struggle and suffer, be encouraged, for he says to each of us, my strength is made perfect in weakness.
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| Abbey ruins, Abingdon |
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