Our God is not a God of forceful power but a Lord of Love, influencing, not coercing. There is no greater power than that of love as proven by Christ on the Cross (‘crux’ in Latin). The world’s power is oppressive, violent, and threatening. It is manipulative.
Not so with the Christ of the Cross. It is through love, and even weakness and humiliation that Christ defeats evil.
Consider the temptation of Christ by Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4). All the world’s kingdoms would belong to Christ if only he would submit his loyalty to Satan.
Such temptations and subsequent loyalties still go on today. Countries are at war with words and weapons to gain kingdoms, territories, and islands. Rulers of nations want self-aggrandizing power, recognition, and the financial gain that goes with it.
People are willing to sell their souls to the devil for the power they desire, a power over others. Not so with Jesus. (Read Stephen King’s ‘Needful Things’ to see the power of evil.)
Those loyal to the God of love will receive a kingdom – the Kingdom of God, where love and sacrifice are the power that can effect change.
I share with you the Evangelical Confession of 2024. You can look it up in its entirety. It speaks to our time and faith.
Our Confession of Evangelical Conviction
In this moment of social conflict and political division, we confess the following Christian convictions:
ONE: We give our allegiance to Jesus Christ alone.
We affirm that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and the only head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). No political ideology or earthly authority can claim the authority that belongs to Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). We reaffirm our dedication to his Gospel which stands apart from any partisan agenda. God is clear that he will not share his glory with any other (Isaiah 42:8). Our worship belongs to him alone (Exodus 20:3-4), because our true hope is not in any party, leader, movement, or nation, but in the promise of Christ’s return when he will renew the world and reign over all things (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
As Lent approaches let’s look at the Christ of the Cross and discover again the beauty of God’s love in the most ugly of deaths. Oh, how He loves you and me, as the song goes.
Grace Matters 