the struggle for power

Continuing "God Pulls"...

Everywhere we look, we see the demands of our physical needs and the desire for security driving people to seek power, the power of money and the power of society. We see people in a constant struggle for this human power, because it can only be gained by the struggle with other people. But Jesus showed us that the love of God does not pull us into this struggle. He sold nothing. He refused to be made king. And in answer to the struggle he simply replied, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's." Jesus was not interested in the power of Caesar, only the power of God.

The power of Caesar, human power, can be bought or stolen, but not the power of God. Human power can weaken or be lost, but not the power of God. Human power can be used for evil, but not the power of God. Human power inevitably fails. But not the power of God.

It is necessary for us that our human power fails, so that we may learn to not trust in it. So that we may learn to not trust in ourselves. It is only when we no longer trust in our own power, when we no longer hope in it, that we come to the point of surrender. When we despair of the struggle, when we can fight no longer, those are the moments when we are most open to the pull of God. "Come to me, all you who are weary from your labor and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest," said Jesus. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Unlike human power, the power of God is a gift. Not a power we must constantly struggle for, but a power that lifts and carries us.

Continued...