Generally, this is not a religious ideals blog. I do delve into the spiritual sometimes, but it is a big part of who I am and, as such, cannot be detached from my thoughts and ideals. But this blog is mainly about words and how I perceive them to affect the community around me. ‘
However, for the next week, I am going to pen my thoughts on the Christian Ideology of “Strength in Weakness.” This is an idea that has resounded deeply with me and I would like to share my genuine thoughts with you. Bear in mind that you may or may not agree with them – I would still like to have an honest discourse about this topic anyway.
Today, I woke up at 6.45 AM (on a Sunday, I think I deserve some kind of medal), got dressed and made my way to New Life AG Church in Secunderabad for the morning service. Though I was rather lethargic, it felt good to exercise those good ol’ grey cells early in the morning as Pastor Rev. Arlene Stubbs took up the weighty matter of strength in weakness. As she spoke about Paul, his ‘adventures’ in serving God and his source of strength, it struck me how loathe we are to admit that we need help.
There is a paradoxical view to how the Apostle Paul views weakness – it is nothing to be ashamed of, it is rather something to be boasted about. Before you write me off as a raving lunatic, hear me out. I’m just quoting the man himself, after all.
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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Cor 12:9-10.
I’m yet to wrap my mind around this amazing fact – I am weak. It’s something to boast about, because my weakness is the gateway for Christ’s power to work in me.
I’ll tackle one characteristic that is considered as ‘weakness’ to the world – Obedience.
We want autonomy. To obey someone, to take orders, to serve someone is perceived as loss of autonomy, and nobody wants that. Nobody wants to ‘play second fiddle’ to another person. We are the masters of our own fate. We shape our futures, we control our outcomes. We are born to be leaders, aren’t we?
Yes, we are born to be leaders. But, before that, before the foundations of the earth, we are called to follow.
There are some things we relinquish when we decided to take up the cross and follow Christ. There is a distinct lack of autonomy when we follow Jesus – we are called to live by his Word. We need to acknowledge that our very being belongs to God. He leads us in the paths that we should go. And in following him, we find freedom. After all, the true Shepherd knows the woes of the obstinate sheep that will not follow. The misconception is that following Jesus means giving up all sense of enjoyment and fun, putting on a martyred face and going about your duties quietly and with joyless purpose. That is not what obedience to Christ is like. If anything, it frees you up to enjoy the great riches of his Glory.
The perfect example of obedience is our leader himself – Jesus. He lived a life of complete obedience to the Father. Jesus, the God of the Trinity, submitted his life in obedience to the Father. There is no ‘second fiddle’ there. If we follow Jesus, we follow him in the ‘weakness’ of obedience. It is the greatest collective strength of the Church as he willed it.
Within the context of the Church, Christ is the Head. We are ALL followers of Him. Faith in him demands that we be sincere and honest with ourselves and with others, to face the ‘weakness’ of being completely surrendered to him.
I think it’s time to boast about your weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on us.
Coming up: What, then, does the bible mean by growing from strength to strength. Is weakness really to be ‘glorified’?
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