As we follow the Jesus story, we soon notice that he is burdened with the natural griefs and pains of humanity.  What distresses him even more, however, is the fact that humanity is engulfed in an abyss of darkness too deep to ever escape – a pit of bottomless evil power.  Indeed he actually invaded this dark realm to rescue humanity from the grip of evil.  He did so by becoming human to live and move in our frailty.

That does not mean a reduction of his power, but rather the expression of his power within human weakness even unto death.  In his single act of total self-giving on the cross he brings to an end the old age of sin and death under which all humanity was held in bondage.  He also disarmed all the forces of evil that hold humanity under oppression.  Yes, it was in sheer weakness that he powerfully demolished all his enemies and ours.

We do not learn what “omnipotence” is by magnifying human power and saying that’s what the Almighty is like.  We rather learn what divine power is as we look at this power expressed in the weakness of the God-Man on the cross. There God demonstrates his own distinctive kind of power.  For the cross is not only the revelation of God’s love, but also his power.  And as we gaze on this wondrous cross we see that God’s power is the very opposite of what we could or would ever imagine.  For through this astonishing act of power in weakness God rescues us from all that enslaved us revealing that he loves us more than we can ever say.