All I can say is: Wow! It is amazing to think about the potential power that as Christians we can access!
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
The power of God goes far beyond anything that we could ever ask or even think. That in itself is an amazing statement. We can all think of some pretty majestic displays of power! Just think about an earthquake, or a hurricane and you have thought about something with immense power. And yet such expressions of power don’t even begin to describe the power of God.
And what amazes me all the more is that Paul says that this awesome power is “at work within us”. Do you feel like maybe you could use some of that power? Do you wonder about it? Where is it? Maybe you don’t feel it. Maybe you seem to have problems and fears and worries and sure would like to get rid of them, but just can’t seem to do it. What’s wrong that I cannot tap into this power that Paul so confidently affirms is already at work within me as a Christian? Is something wrong with me? Am I a defective Christian?
First it is important to understand that nothing is wrong with you. Well, that’s not exactly right, something is wrong with you, but not in any way that makes you different from any other human being, or any other Christian. What’s wrong with you is the same exact thing that is wrong with me, and the same exact thing that is wrong with every other human being on the face of the earth. Sin …is what’s wrong with you and me. Sin is a problem that is impossible for us to fix by ourselves. We simply do not have the power to fix it. And that is very much what Paul is alluding to in Eph. 3:20-21. As long as we stay focused on our own power – we will fail – we will not change – we will not become better.
So …What does this look like? How do I know if I am relying on God’s infinite power, or if I’m relying on my own puny power that won’t work? It is very simple, it’s summed up in one word that you have heard over & over again (if you heard the gospel – you’ve heard it over & over!): LOVE – in particular the love of Christ: Eph. 3:14-19 – YOU TAP INTO GOD’S INFINITE POWER BY FOLLOWING CHRIST’S MODEL OF LOVE – How did Christ show love? What did he say about love? It is in and through the teachings of Christ and his examples of love that we understand what love really is, and when we do Paul says we are “filled with the fullness of God” and we thus tap into that great power that is working within us all as God’s people. Below are just a couple of examples of Jesus’ love:
Lk. 5:12-14 – This use of miracles to HELP others was the hallmark of Jesus work – you may not be able to work miracles – but you can HELP OTHERS – make such the hallmark of your work!
Lk. 7:36-50 – Jesus showed love in the way he treated sinners. How do we treat and think about “sinners”? The unsaved? We need to show them love like Jesus!
The above is merely the “tip of the iceberg” regarding all the marvelous examples of love that Jesus demonstrated. We need to go out every day and show this same kind of love. We need to live it out – practice it – the same kind of love that Jesus showed us – it’s not a typically human kind of love – it is a God & Jesus kind of love; it is THEIR LOVE – it is THEIR POWER! You will be amazed at the power of God’s kind of love to change you for the better! The power to bless you, to bring you happiness and hope. Practice Christ’s love and unleash God’s infinite power to change for the better!