Power in Humility, Weakness, and Suffering
Consider the words of Jesus: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12). This is not a promise of mere mimicry; it is a pledge of the greatest empowerment possible for mortals. He guarantees that those who follow Him will wield the greatest human powers. To be a follower of Christ is to be an heir to His kingdom, forever in His eternal light.
How does this happen? Through what process are we, mere mortals, elevated to such a heights? Greater works, what does this mean? The answer lies in the virtue of magnanimity, that divine generosity which pours forth from Christ’s heart. It is magnanimity that grants us the courage to face our fears, the strength to overcome temptation, and the wisdom to discern truth from falsehood.
Christ makes His followers into kings, but what does this mean for us? This is a transformation that occurs at the very core of our being. To follow Christ is to be remade completely in His image the way we were born to be, infused with His spirit and granted authority over the very forces of darkness. This is costly. You must be willing to give up on those things that were never yours to begin with, and this can be more painful than at first presumed.
Yes, leadership in Christ comes at a cost. It demands sacrifice, humility, and an unwavering faith. It requires us to lay down our personal ambitions and ideas of glory or fame, to surrender our wills and desires for His, and to pick up the cross that He bore for us. True greatness is found in divine service only, because all greatness belongs to God. To be made into a king by Christ is to be called to that higher purpose, to lead not with fists of iron but with loving hearts and grace.
This is a kingdom of humility, where strength is found in weakness, and glory shines through suffering. There are no lies in such leadership, like the leadership founded in the world generally. This is a truth that confounds the over-wise and gives hope to those humble in their mortal existence and God’s many gifts.
Christ, our King of kings chose to live among the lowly, to associate with sinners and outcasts. The Almighty became an infant, dependent on the care of mere mortals, and entrusted Himself to people outside of earthly power. How can this be? How can the one who holds the universe in His hands choose to enter the world in such a manner? How could we possibly do greater works than He?
The answer is in the godly nature of true humility, which allows us to see ourselves as we truly are, not as we wish to be. Weakness is the answer, the only thing available to us in greater amounts than that which is in God. Christ’s humility is not a sign of any weakness though, but a manifestation of His divine power. It is through His willingness to humble Himself that He achieves the ultimate victory, and redeems humanity. Only through our weakness and our bare and humbled acknowledgement of it can we perform these greater works as promised.
Christ’s suffering is His glory, and so it is for us and how we respond. The cross, an instrument of shame and torture, becomes the throne from which He rules eternally. His wounds are not marks of defeat but badges of honour, the scars that prove His absolute and undying love for us. For in laying down His life for something greater in humility, He granted to us the same power.