May The Force Be With You
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ Romans 16:25
Is Able – Star Wars is Greek. The idea of an impersonal cosmic force presiding over life and death is as old as Pythagoras. George Lukas might have been enthralled by the concept, but Paul wasn’t fooled. Paul’s view of power is not at all like the ancient Greeks, nor is it like our contemporary mythology about power. Paul is Hebrew – and that means that power is God’s prerogative, not mine.
Our word is dynamai. You will recognize it in the words “dynamic” and “dynamite.” It’s about power. But in the Hebrew mind, power resides in a personal God who controls, sustains and directs all of creation. More importantly, power is not the goal of active creation (unlike the hope of politicians). Ultimately, the universe is about the will of the Father, not about the force required to accomplish that will. So, Paul is being entirely Hebrew when he suggests in this closing doxology that it is God alone who is able to bring about His will in your life. A Greek mindset would suggest that you have some divine spark within that needs to be nurtured in order for you to experience the “force.” Don’t be fooled by all that mumbo-jumbo. Unless God provides you with His energy, you are just a depleting battery.
Why don’t we see this truth more clearly? The answer is simple: we experience personal power in life, so we conclude that it must reside in us. We can do things, so we think that our activity proves we have resident ability. And God accommodates this illusion by allowing life to operate as if the force is with us. He accommodates this illusion because He is interested in our personal decision to refuse this myth and submit to His authority. God is not interested in forcing me to see the truth. He requests that I voluntarily accept the truth. And the truth is that life is in Him, and no other!
Once I see that my life is simply woven into the fabric of His will, then I will recognize that all quests of individual power are an affront to God. They are also, ultimately, useless and stupid. God is the true source of all power, but it is always power conditioned by the purposes of His will. If I am not in His will, then my experience of power rests on quicksand. It will lead to nothing.
How can I be grounded in the power of His will? Ah, that’s what prayer is for.
