2 Corinthians 12.9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. – St. Paul
This thought smacks against human culture and humanism; in our
eyes, we’re not to be weak but to be strong – that’s the way of the world, the survival of the fittest. But Heaven is not earth, and the culture of Heaven
is utter dependence upon God in all things, all the time.
I was not raised by the culture of Heaven, and I suspect
others were not as well. I suspect many of us were raised with western
Americanism (not nationally, but hemispherically). The culture of the west is
you pull yourself up, as we say, by your bootstraps and you are never to be a
burden to anyone. That sounds good, and it sounds strong, but according to the culture of Heaven, it’s way wrong.
The Bible enjoins us to work, to produce, and to enjoy
the fruits of our labor. Work is a good thing for a person to do if that person
is capable of doing so. But work is not the end, it is only a means. We are put
on earth for two reason, to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever (Westmister
Shorter Catechism).
To glorify God we must refrain from the pervasiveness and
power of sin. We were brought into this
world in sin (through no fault of our own) and invited to glorify and enjoy God
as He frees us from the power of sin, and the power of self-strength. Humanity
believes it can free itself to do better; God says, My power is made perfect in [your] weakness – reliance upon Him,
not on myself. Apart from God, I can do nothing.
Our life on earth is a life of difficulty tainted with
sin. Our sin is against God and others. The perniciousness of sin can only be
dealt with by the power of God offered to us in Christ Jesus, and by following Him
(His teaching and example) as He leads us to fellowship and friendship with
God.
The issue boils down to whether we will follow Jesus or
not. Our problem is we want to fix ourselves and the reality is, we’re impotent
to do so. To follow Jesus, we have to admit we’re weak, and that’s where the western
culture of rugged individualism collides with the reality of human weakness.
Jesus only helps the weak. And the real rub: we have to admit we’re weak.
Our culture lies to us, to convince us, we’re strong;
that we don’t need God. Again, the clash of cultures. We admit we are weak, but
we don’t remain there: we remain in the presence of God to overcome, by His presence
and power, the weakness that is in us. It’s the only way it works… And it is so
against everything we hold dear as humans and westerners…
And, so, today, I admit my weakness, and cry out to God for
help. God helps the humble, but leaves the proud to their own devices. A Proud
in his devices is doomed to a frightful future. The humble, boasts all the more
gladly about his weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on him as he makes
his way toward Heaven.
Father, today, admitting
my weakness, I ask only this: help me. In my weakness, Your power rests on me.
Amen
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