The Strength of Christ 

   I think our impression of Jesus is sometimes limited to the passionate, kind, and loving side of our Lord.  We should see all of these things in Jesus for He is all of these things.  His actions, His preaching, and His way of life demonstrate these qualities far above any we can emulate.

   And yet our Lord also had great strength within Him.  This is the Lord who even the wind and the seas obeyed.  He demanded the expulsion of demons and rebuked Satan himself.

   This is Jesus of Nazareth, who faced down His own towns people when they were angry and threatening to throw Him over the cliff of the town.  “But he passed through them and went away.” (Luke 4: 30).

   He confronted the money changers and merchants who had turned the temple into a marketplace, upsetting their tables and chasing them from the temple with a whip of cords.  He regularly confronted the priests, Pharisees, and Scribes, castigating them for their duplicity.

   He chastised cities for their sinfulness, “Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you Bethsaida!  For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgement than for you.” (Matt 11: 21 -22)

   We should always remember the kindness, mercy, and love Jesus displayed and still shows to all mankind, but we must never forget the strength of Jesus.  It is the strength of truth and righteousness in the face of sinfulness; it is the strength that He will give us if we ask. 

Jesus, Your love is total, given freely to all.

Teach us to love like that.

Lord, Your strength readily confronts evil.

Give us that kind of strength.

 

Amen