Powerless in this World

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

12
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
13
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

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And

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Colossians 3:3-4
3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

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The strength we need is supplied, we need only have faith. There is nothing we cannot overcome, as what is required of us will never be something we cannot handle. Failure is not a spiritual understanding. Failure is a realization of worldliness. Love does not fail, and faith does not lack strength.

I really struggle with this. I feel I am being punished all the time because of my worldly failings. Not a spiritual suffering, no. As a individual, I have been stripped of worth in this world. Made to feel less of a man, less of a parent, less of a partner, less of a friend, less of a co worker, less of a leader, less of an employee. All because I have put love first. All because I will not allow this existence to have value beyond the spiritual. This world no longer recognizes me, and I am rediculed, and shown to be a failure because of it. I do struggle with this.

The time of Law, was unlike this. Those who took an undertanding of sin, could then overcome others with that perfect knowledge. Judians and Islamists do this to this very day. They know that sin makes mankind subserviant through their desires, and so they lead mankind by their desires, and benefit in worldly ways from it. They do not treat others as they would have themselves be treated. They instead benefit from the principalities of wickedness found in heavenly places. So for them, what is righteousness is denying themselves what their perfect knowledge has granted them as power.

As Christians, we do not gain from the influence of wickedness in heavenly realms. We walk a path that abandons self, so that holiness can act through us. This holiness can come through us in our imperfect state of being. We do not serve ourselves by the influence of sin, instead we rely on faith and serve others through it. Through the kingdom is how the Spirit of Truth provides this holiness. Of course it comes in the form of spiritual gifts and fruit. As Christians, strength does not come from the Lord to achieve worldliness, build livelihoods, or cater to relationships. As Christians, strength comes in the moments we seek it to have holiness come through us by the kingdom.

Loving takes strength. In a world that no longer recognizes us, and with a population we no longer belong to, it takes strength to love others, love the enemy. Having the truth living through us, brings persecution, brings suffering. We are not called to overcome the world, we are called to love.

When the living Word of God returns to union with what has been promised to him, what holiness we have supplied as a part of the body, will be acknowledged, and added to us. What that means is our reward comes after we are raised into our eternal form.

This existence is up till our death, an opportunity to have holiness come through us, harvesting for the truth, reaping for life by doing the Father's will. And the will of God is to believe in the example of selflessness His son provided for us. We wash the feet of those who will ultimately fail us, we allow our enemies to persecute and strip us of all humanity. We forgive trespasses, we love; treating others how we would have ourselves be treated.

I struggle with being powerless in this world. It would be easy to use knowledge of weakness to gain wealth and influence among man. But I am called to do the will of God, not satisfy my desires. Glory belongs to the Truth, and we honor that truth with love.

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