Power

Undefeated

Romans 8:37-39; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 4:9-11

Words of hope, words of comfort, words of wisdom—but how to make them real?

UNDEFEATED

God remains undefeated. There is nothing in all creation that can match the power of God. There is nothing in all creation that can thwart God’s will for creation. There is nothing in all creation that can empty the promises of God. God is still champion!

So much for the Muhammad Ali interpretation of St. Paul! But—that tone and tenor are the gist of his message to the Romans. This statement is the most triumphal of all of Paul’s messages. He needed to take that tone because there were many clouds on the horizon of the early Church. It stood opposed by the Jewish hierarchy in Israel. The Roman government began to feel paranoid about a new house meeting movement, especially one that welcomed outcasts, the poor, slaves, and mixed them with members of the upper classes in a grand sweep of equanimity—beware inclusive gatherings, nothing good can come of them! Paul boosted morale. 

His boost, though, crosses all timelines and generations and contexts. It is a boost any of us can hear and accept as good news for us all. 

First, Paul reminds us of who is in charge—God alone. Paul not so gently reminds us that nothing in creation can challenge God simply because it is created! If all things come from God, then there is no way that God would possibly create something more powerful than God. No—to be created means there are limits to the scope and power of that which is created. This just makes sense—we build 4000 pound automobiles, but all that power, heft, and speed only comes into play when one of us uses a car. No matter how we might plead to the officer pulling us over, the car won’t do what we don’t make it do! God created all that is, therefore, all that is remains under God’s order.

That is such good news. It means that there really are limits to what you and I can do. There really are limits to how much damage can be done when something goes awry. There really are limits to what is ultimate. Remember that the next time things seem to be spinning out of control. Reread this section of Romans when you aren’t sure what is coming next or how we will ever manage. God is here. There is help and hope.

IN CHRIST

Paul also points us to a special place to feel and to know this undefeated power of God—faith. We believe. That stance is not something to take lightly or dismissively. To believe in Christ is to enter the saving power of God. All the elements of Christ’s story become elements in our own story. That includes his power to heal, his power to settle the most troubled of minds, his power to make someone see, and even his power to rise from the dead. All aspects of Christ are now woven into our own way and life and being. 

Of course, we want evidence. We want something to look at, to touch, to experience to shore up what we believe. We want proof we aren’t whistling in the dark. 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Which brings right back into these very pews on this very morning. St. John spent a good bit of his first letter to his congregations offering them the means by which to know that faith is real, actual, and powerful within the world. He looks no further than the very people comprising those congregations. The proof is in them. The proof comes through them. The proof is in their practice of what they believe in the real world as they live their real lives. John proclaims one of the most beautiful of Gospels—God is love, and God’s love is fully manifest in Jesus as Jesus meets the world in love, comforting, caring, consoling, and creating a fellowship of love. But John knows that the only way that such a message can become living hope is when that fellowship love takes that love into the world, showing people that love in the way they speak to those whom they meet, the way they act within their relationships with friends, family, and total strangers, and the way they continually alter their thinking to embody love in all areas of their lives. 

That call and challenge has not changed one iota in the 2000 years since John wrote it. We are the next generation called to love. If we want assurance that what we believe is real and trustworthy, begin with our own life. Act on what we believe. Use it when dealing with others. Let it form responses and minimize reactions. Let it guide words, deeds, and presence.

The means by which to do so are almost absurdly simple. 

Begin the day with prayer. Try this one as soon as you awaken—

Lord, be with me today. May my day reflect you. Amen.

Of course, you can flesh that out as much as you like. Do the same again at different moments of the day—at lunch, when you get ready to head home from work, sitting in carpool waiting for the kids at school, just after dinner—the idea is simply to frame the day with God, reminding ourselves of that wondrous, glorious power that is present in every single moment. 

Then, at the end of the day when most everything is done but falling asleep, pray a different prayer—

Lord, I pray that love led me, but where it didn’t, show me. Help me know that tomorrow will be new and another chance. 

       Amen.

Nobody’s perfect. God knows that. God is okay with that—where God has trouble with us is when we celebrate our imperfection and refuse to do anything about it. God’s mercy will overcome what we lack. God’s love will strengthen where we got it right. That is grace.

And that is also where we finally, fully encounter the undefeated power of God. God is with us. God abides. All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.