“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus’ fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.” ~ A.W. Tozer
It seems as though all of humanity lives by the creed, “Might is right.” It’s not, you know. It just seems that many people think that way. We often try to force our ideas on others. We do our best to sway people to our way of thinking. And if, in the process, we have to use a little bit of force — okay, a lot of force — well, so be it. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again. That’s the way it works.
Jesus, throughout His ministry here on earth, turned many concepts and notions upside down. Easter proves wrong the concept of “might is right”. Jesus surrendered. He allowed others to try to exert their might upon Him. Their violence, their scorn, even their crucifixion did not matter. God is more powerful than any of that.
I think we have all imagined, at one time or another, what it would be like if we were all-powerful. If we really had the power and the ability to make people do what we want, we say to ourselves, this world would be radically different. That might be true. The world might be radically different. But, would the world be radically better?
Jesus, in a show of lack of force, made the world radically better by surrendering Himself to the world and allowing Himself to be crucified. When He surrendered Himself to death, He even destroyed death because all the power that death exerted was not enough to restrain life and love from existing.
This day we celebrate new life. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we remember that He has promised us new life at the end of our days. If we are humble enough to accept it, we will be able to defeat the darkness of the world and rise to life in Christ. Our power is not in force and brutality. Our power comes in abandoning ourselves to the wonderful love of God.
Try not to pursue brute force in making your way through life. Instead, embrace the gentle humility of Jesus Christ and let Him lead you through the perils and pitfalls of this world to the New Life to come.
FAITH ACTION: As you gather with loved ones today, share your joy in the resurrection.