Strength Through Weakness

“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” (2Co 13:4 AV)

The phrase “through weakness” can throw us off a bit.  Remembering that Jesus was all human as He was all divine, helps.  From the blood drops in the garden to His seven cries from the cross, Jesus was at His weakest moment.  His humanity was pushed to the limit.  I think Paul is speaking of surrender.  As Christ surrendered to the event of crucifixion, we are also surrendered to the will of the Father.  That is what is meant by being weak in Christ.  Our wills are broken.  Our desire is to obey the Father.  The promise is what we want to consider here.  Even though Jesus surrendered unto the torture and death of the cross, He lives for the Father.  Because He lives for the Father, the Father gives Him power to do so.  In the same sense, if we are weak in Christ because we are surrendered, then it will be the power of God that enables us to live.  Becoming weak that we might be made strong is the idea here.

I drove a car recently that had a bunch of safety features.  We rented a car for a ride down to visit my son.  This car had a bunch of assists.  One of them was a lane assist.  When the cruise control is engaged, the car will watch for the white lines of your lane.  If you begin to drift, it will attempt to steer you back into your lane.  Unless the turn signal is on, the car will gently take over the steering so you stay centered in your lane.  The car I have now does the same thing.  It also has brake assist.  I have to tell you, I don’t care for the lane assist.  This means surrendering some autonomy for safety.  The brake assist is great.  I had a car in front of me spontaneously break and turn right.  If the brake assist were not engaged, I might have locked up the wheels.  Using the assists requires a bit of faith in the technology.  It also means the driver has to yield to something bigger than himself.  He has to allow the technology that can respond much quicker to have some control over the car.  I am not there yet.  I’ll use the brake assist all day long.  But the lane assist has to wait a bit.  Not there yet.

Giving up autonomy and the privilege of self-determination does not come easy.  We are thinking, acting, rational human beings.  We can make choices.  Sometimes those choices are correct.  We love being independent.  We love the statement of individual worth.  Paul is showing us that just the opposite is true.  By surrendering the sense of Self, we actually become stronger people.  By trusting and obeying the Father, as the Son, we live in power and victory.  The world tells us that individuality means empowerment.  The more of an individual we become, the stronger we become.  That is actually false.  The more like God we become, the stronger we become.  Surrender is often seen as a bad word.  Among our world that values independence and self-determination, yielding to a higher authority is seen as weakness.  This is foolish talking.  When I fly, the pilot surrenders the plane to air currents and gravity.  To do so means to soar among the clouds.  Paul says that to yield in obedience and faith to the will of the Creator God means to live in power rather than in weakness.