I find myself becoming more and more frustrated at the lack of power in my life, specifically that we have a general task to do (to be Jesus to people - and by the way, isn’t the incarnational vs attractional church debate a little obvious? Surely we need both… And that’s before we start talking about incarnational community inherently operates attractionally anyway especially when its ‘out there’). We’re told that we have a Gospel of Power not of words and, though that actual verse eludes me, and I’m frustrated by the fact that I can talk the gospel but can’t see much power at work at all. I’m talking about the miracles that we would all like to be part of such as healing - and yes I am praying for people before you ask. I’ve been praying for a ‘gospel of power’ to be a reality in my life since St Toms processed healing and then faith a few years ago. In the meantime I’ve been asking to meet Jesus regularly in a tangible way: physically, visibly or audibly (it would make things so much easier wouldn’t it? ..that and increase intimacy..)

I think here you could ask “well, why do you want the miraculous?” and often there’s a plethora of self-centered reasons that come out after applying such pressure, whether its affirmation, status, etc, but the more I think about it I realise I don’t think that is it anymore.  In having to be like Jesus I feel like I have a job to do but actually can’t affect significant change in the lives of my friends or the people I randomly meet. Generally loving people, listening, being pastoral, and attempting to teach, lead & challenge a generation that refuses to be taught, led or challenged is great and does affect some change but its only a tiny part of the Gospel - without a ‘gospel of power’ there’s no chance of calling even a small village back to God, never mind a city.

The only thing that really cuts the mustard is affecting change where people want change to be affected - and usually that requires the miraculous because people want to be healed, and situations to be changed and to meet God tangibly, before they die.  If God meets them there then they’ll trust him with other parts of their lives - that’s just the reality of this generation. That’s the integrity bit of Christianity from their point of view - can God actually heal their lives and save them?  Is God real?  Is God good?  Is God strong?  I think I remember Yancy in What’s so amazing about grace trying to assert that healing doesn’t save people but grace does - I’ve never agreed and I can’t see how, biblically he can back up that healing doesn’t save many people. I can find plenty of examples of people in the bible that had their lives changed by Jesus and went away transformed & praising God.

Of course no human has a right to put God in a place where they can choose him or not - CS Lewis talks about us placing God in the dock of a court case, deciding whether we want him or not depending on the given evidence - but regardless of how contrived and misunderstood the real situation is trying to convince people that they’re not at liberty to place God in the dock would never be a particularly successful approach. Its not like I think we should be popular either, most of us are just not salesmen and most people nowadays really do have a problem with saying something they aren’t living every day, or worse hearing it from someone that isn’t but saying they do. There’s something about being real, something easy and kingdom-like with being able to say “well, that healing was God on the outside, would you like God on the inside too?”. That is the tool I want.

I think we will always struggle to see people come to Christ without a ‘gospel of power’. At St Toms we did healing, to faith, to fighting resistance - I’m wondering whether the last bit means there’s something to do with Authority that isn’t inherent with merely getting to know God & being a Christian - whether there’s a thing about being trusted with it? I wanted to put all this down but then read the end of Matthew 9 and the beginning few verses of 10, and it narrates Jesus healing and operating in power and then passing that Authority onto the disciples and then instructing them to use it. Every time I begin to think about putting this down or praying for other things God encourages me to pray for the tangible miraculous - so there is no getting away from it.

Related posts
Gospel of Power not of words (Part 2)
Does God ever withhold healing?
The law and the Gospel
Is the Christian life a better life?
Leading Generation X