Without Power, People Die

The largest power failure  in history (since electricity) occurred last month!  No, not the one in the Mid-Atlantic states, but one in India that affected 670 million people, nearly 10% of the world’s population. While some Americans (and probably some Indians too) may have been mostly annoyed that Starbucks was closed, the real danger, of course, was the lack of energy to homes and hospitals for air conditioning and medical equipment. Without power, people die.

But that pales in comparison to the greatest power failure in human history: the day Adam sinned, after which, “death spread to all men” (Rom 5:12). Despite  that, men tried to be powerful in their own right. They built cities, and eventually the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4), a monument to their abilities and achievements: man power.  But it failed, as did all subsequent attempts at self-empowerment!

And even though, at new birth, God’s power is turned back on: resident within us (Acts 1:8), most of us experience personal power shortages all too frequently.  And these are the moments to ask ourselves if we have built any towers of self-reliance, because our attempts at self-empowerment will always result in power failure. And in the spiritual realm just as in the physical, without power, people die.