Partnered with colonisers , power was used to dominate , tower over and scream at cultures whose primary posture was welcome .
This includes the peoples of my ancestors , in the archipelago now called the Philippines . In the city where I grew up , the colonisers arrived on gunboats . They greeted the villages with raining canon shells – a show of power .
My point is that in our human sin , power can be used to dominate , destroy and oppress – to colonise .
Unlike the ancient gods and kings , we see throughout the Bible that our God is fondly consistent in aligning Himself with those who felt powerless . While kings justified their oppressive power under their gods , our God allied Himself as a defender of the widows , a father to the orphans and a comforter to the marginalised . And He invites His people to do the same .
And like the Father , the Son ’ s kind of power gave voice to the powerless . This is where I am continually challenged by Jesus in how He understood the dynamics of power . Just as He modelled it , Jesus corrected our use of power by pointing to serving others , rather than being served . ( Matthew 20:25-28 )
As Ghanaian theologian Kwame Bediako wrote , “ Jesus ’ way was one of engagement and involvement through a new way of overcoming , arising from a unique concept of power – power of forgiveness over retaliation , of suffering over violence , of love over hostility , of humble service over domination .”
Jesus had a non-dominating use for power . In fact , in Philippians 2:5-11 , it describes Jesus choosing to give up any rights to the kind of power our world obsesses over – domination through authority , popularity and force . Instead , He uses power to humble Himself .
He uses power to serve , to love … even to sacrifice Himself to the point of execution . Jesus kept His heart humble and left it to the Holy Spirit to do the filling , lifting and empowering .
In other words , Jesus uses His power to move into our neighbourhoods , get alongside those at the bottom rung of the ladder and lift everyone towards the Father .
What is our power meant for ? Well to follow Jesus ’ counter cultural way ... our power is for freedom , love and justice .
There ’ s more !
Listen to Marbz explore the dynamics of power on our podcast .
Head to : www . baptist missionaustralia . org / Missioning
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