Power ... for what?

There's a specific crop of Christians that have no reservations in letting those around them know that the reason for their dedication, fervent prayers and even joining Christendom in the first place is "to receive power". Testimonies of regular men receiving and using supernatural power enthrall and excite them. And any ministry or program promising the release of "power from on high" naturally attracts them.

The question for you, if you are among the above, is "Power for what?

This may appear as a ridiculous question at first glance. Don't we all need power? But really, let's ponder: what do we really, really need power for?

The honest uncomfortable reality is that many seek power for selfish ends. There are some that want miraculous power to be able to heal and cast out evil spirits. And this was the original reason Jesus our Lord gave power to the disciples He sent out, so that by demonstrating those signs the world will know that they were sent by God (Mark 3:14-15). He also gave them "power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy ..." (Luke 10:19). But there are many who seek that same power and have no interest in fulfilling it for the same motive - to convince others of Christ. Some others want power as a talisman to keep bad things from happening to them or bad people from coming near them. Or to control the elements of nature to do their bidding. Or to command money and make it come to them. Or to teach those that have wronged them a lesson. None of these align to the original reason Christ made His power available to us in the first place.

James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Here is what's curious: we live in a country with many acclaimed "powerful men of God". At any given weekend (or weekday even!), there is a "powerful ministration" or "power-packed program" going on. What's the essence of all our power-generation whilst the story of our society is largely poverty, pain, perversion? Money-worshipping through corruption and all it's children are normalized at every nation. What good have we been accomplishing as Christians with all the power we've been generating from our power-packed exercises over the years? Is it because we have simply just been asking for it...so we can consume it on our own lusts, our desires?

The power Christ has made available to us...is for our edification. To shine our light to the world. To make us holy, to make us love righteousness. To draw others to him. But the sad story is many of us have gotten so excited at the prospect of supernatural power that we've lost sight of its original purpose.

Here's a charge to us, to reexamine our perspective on supernatural power. It is interestingly more available to us than we imagine. If we believe Jesus when He said in Matthew 28:18 that all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, and in John 16:23-24 that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give unto us, we'd understand that the access has been provided. It's the burden of how to use the power well that we need. How are we looking past our current needs to what the Father wants to accomplish in our world, and letting that be the focus of our "power" ask? That's the charge for us today. God grant us wisdom.