Encore Post: People respect power and ability. They admire the powerful, dream of what they could do if they had more power are will to fight for power, sometimes doing things they hate along the way. Money speaks because it brings with it power. They are willing to sacrifice almost anything to gain power. It really is not power itself that is so attractive. Power lets you do whatever you want to do. The problem with power is sinful people cannot be trusted with it. “Power tends to corrupt,” said Lord Acton, “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The only one who truly is all-powerful — all-mighty — omnipotent is God. God can do anything he wants to do. When God speaks, the world was created. (Genesis 1) By his word, he keeps the universe running (Hebrews 1:3) Even when things seem impossible to us, for God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) What this means for us is that he can and does keep his promises to us. The real question, then, is not what can God do, but what does he want to do for us?
Where people come to doubt God’s power or his existence, it almost always because he does not do what they think he should do. “If there is a good god,” they say, “then he would…” — eliminate disease, suffering and death — right now! He would shower them with blessing, making you rich and comfortable. When he does not do these things — and on their timetable, people will complain. What they should do is ask: “what is God’s will?” “what does he want to do?”
What God wants to do is to save us and to live with us forever. He loved us before he made the world, chose us to be adopted as his children, to make us holy and blameless in his presence. This he accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross by which he redeemed us, earned for us the forgiveness of sins and sealed us for eternity by His Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:3-14)
So, what God wants to do is seek and save the lost. With his power, he is able to do this and has already done it for us. What he also wants to do is to work his power through us. He sends us with his word to proclaim, his sacraments to share and gifts to care for our neighbors. So, we are a part of his plan to execute his will. It is through us he chooses to exercise his almighty power, for the praise of his grace, the salvation of the lost and the restoration of his creation to perfection. For with God, nothing is impossible.
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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