“And now that I think about it, this Savior we have is surely honored every time we intentionally put our minds into who He is, what He’s done, and what we are trusting Him for, all this is the Truth that stands – with or without our participation.
Why do I say this? To emphasize that He is Lord, He is infinitely greater than all, no matter what tools we choose, no matter what strategies we take, and no matter how much confidence or doubt we have at any given point. Christ is the Truth that holds us together no matter what facts are present in any circumstance.
I’ve been saying that for the umpteenth time, and I never grow sick of it – but it’s only half of the Truth. We should be looking at the other side of the coin as well.”
Humanity defaults to inflating what their physical senses perceive as reality. We have the tendency of putting finite facts on a pedestal and proclaiming them as truth.
The Gospel of grace is peace no matter what happens to us. We recognize this as the Truth, no matter what facts are trending and circulating at any given moment. The world would have us terrified by catastrophes and looming terror, while simultaneously charming us with its flawed definitions of pleasure and success, and while so many people are baited, we live and move and have our being from an absolute Source of peace. This gives the subjective observer looking in from the outside cause to agree – we have a peace beyond all understanding; it’s a nice way of saying we’re crazy, at least according to their standards.
But here’s the thing, it’s not like we’re as Andrew Farley would quote, sitting on our hands blabbering about Jesus all the time, and doing nothing. No, the Word calls this Gospel we have, the power of God unto salvation, and I dare say that it works the other way around – it is from salvation that the power of God moves in and through us. Now let me clarify, I am not saying we have the power of God, as if to say that it is an object or a tool or a strategy – No, as we have Christ alive in us, and as we are alive in Christ, I am saying that what we have as power is everlasting life – Life infused in our being that would not only keep us steady in the storm, but would certainly have us moving from glory to glory.
What am I saying in all this? The Gospel of Grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ serves not only as peace, but as power. Peace for no matter what happens to us, and power for us to move and make things happen.
And the Truth is, you couldn’t see this peace apart from the power, or vice versa. We move in peace AND power, just as much as we are calm in power AND peace. Through the Gospel we learn we have a peace that is just as proactive as it is reactive, and power that is just as responsive as it is progressive.
I’m assuming that we would have seasons in our life where peace matters more than the power… at least, that’s how it seems in my life. But I’d like to go against how I ended my last article – it’s not that we should be looking at the other side of the coin, as if this power I speak of is only true when we see it. No, the power is always present, just as the peace is always in us. I keep throwing in John Legend’s line, ‘All of me loves all of you’, and when all of Christ loves all of us, this means not only His peace, but His power is completely infused in every aspect of our being, just as all of us has been fully united to Him.
I know the peace has always been present, but today I am reminded that the power is that much with us as well. After all, I did write, ‘Power Is Peace In All Circumstances’. It works both ways.
I must point out that it’s Christ that’s the power. As He is the Life, He is the power, the capability for us to do things. We don’t do things out of our own strength to prove His power, as if He needed our help in advertising. I believe that most often than not, we’re the ones who are amazed by His power first, and then we move from the awe.
Christ is the Power that holds us in Peace, and He gives us Peace to trust His Power. Either way, we flow. In line with a whole bunch of Proverbs I’ve been reading as of late, we may be on the boat, and we may have the capability to steer in the direction that we wish, but it is the Water that decides our path. Christ moves us. He rests in the waves with us, or walks on the water calling us, and He Himself is the Water of Life.
Part of me wants to complain because I’ve observed with my own finite thinking and senses that most often than not, I’m resting in peace instead of moving in power. But today I am reminded that neither of these aspects of Christ in us diminish. No matter what we see happening in our lives, no matter how we complain that nothing is happening, or there is too much on our plate, the power and peace of Christ are present in us at any given moment.
This is Jesus, who spoke peace to the waves, and spoke in power for the dead to come to life.
This is Jesus, who proclaimed peace to the paralytic by the forgiveness of his sins, and also commanded him in power to rise, take up his bed, and walk.
This is Jesus, who endured the cross in peace, and walked out of the grave in power.
When I rest, I also rest in the power of my Savior. When I move, I also move in the peace of my Lord.
And there we have it. Christ is infinitely superior to anything else in this finite reality. Christ’s Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum are perspectives of His goodness towards us, giving us peace for all that happens to us, and power to make things happen. This is the Gospel that is for us to enjoy as individuals, and as we fellowship in the body of Christ.
Christ is our Peace, we live in Him.
Christ is our Power, we move in Him.
And so in Christ, we have our being.
May the Lord bless us all.
Leave a Reply