The Spirit-Empowered Church
One night several years ago, hurricane-force winds battered an American town. In the morning, people emerged from their homes and shelters to assess the damage. The power of the storm quickly became apparent to one investigator, who made an amazing discovery. Imbedded in a telephone pole, he found a flimsy, plastic drinking straw. Obviously, under normal circumstances, a flimsy straw could never penetrate a telephone pole. The tremendous power of the wind had driven the straw into the wood like a spike.
As believers living in an ungodly world, sometimes we wonder if we can ever make a difference. We wonder if we can effectively penetrate our cynical culture with the good news God has given us to proclaim. The answer lies in the source of our power.
If we rely on our own strength and methods, we cannot make much of a difference. If we choose to be driven by God’s limitless power, however, we become like that straw in the hurricane—nothing can stop us! We can make a dramatic difference.
Indeed, that is what Jesus wants the church—the collective body of Christian believers—to do. Like the early church in the Book of Acts, He wants us to have a profound impact on our culture, to turn our world upside-down for Christ (see Acts 17:6). It is possible—if we do it in God’s way and in God’s power.
