Mussolini, presiding at a celebration in Rome while at the height of his power, cried out: “Since prehistoric times, one shout has come down on the waves of the centuries, ‘Woe to the weak!'"
Evidently Mussolini had not listened very attentively to the shouts of the past. Had he done so, from the spot where he stood he could have heard the dying groans of the Roman Empire. All about him were the relics of a civilization that was unable to perpetuate itself by force.
Perhaps Mussolini had never studied the history of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Evidently he had never meditated on the downfall of Napoleon. In his ignorance of the past, he was blind to the fact that his own house was built on sand.
No nation has ever maintained itself permanently by force alone. If it does not go down before a combination of powers, it suffers inner disintegration because it loses the loyalty of its own people. Only when force is the expression of righteousness does it permanently endure.
COMMENTARY
I used to think that to have power meant you had to have great wealth and great authority. The scriptures beg to differ. Take Jesus for example. In the eyes of the affluent, the religious leaders and the Romans he wasn’t one to be esteemed. He didn’t possess any grand titles, he had no wealth, he wasn’t educated by some elite teacher of the day, and he didn’t even have his own home.
It is also ironic that Napoleon is mentioned in the story above because he once stated, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded great empires, but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force! Jesus alone founded his empire on love, and to this very day millions would die for him. I think I understand something of human nature, and I tell you that all these were men and I am a man. None else was like him. Jesus Christ was more than a man.”
I have always been a little perplexed in understanding Napoleon. Though he is notoriously remembered for being a brutal and violent man, I believe that he knew there was a greater power out there and a path more noble than the one he chose.
For example, one night, it has been written, that he was with many of his leaders on the ship "L'Orient" headed for Egypt. As the men sat on the deck, they engaged in a discussion of religion. The opinion was generally expressed that the belief in God was an ancient idea which had once served a valuable purpose but was no longer needed by intelligent people. Napoleon was silent as he listened to the conversation. As he arose to go to his room he pointed to the stars shining brilliantly in the darkness and said, "Messieurs, who made all that?"
Jesus, being fully man and fully God, had the power to do whatever he wanted. But he came to fulfill a mission. Part of His mission was to give the world an example of how we each should live. As the Romans brutally whipped him to the edge of death he could’ve stopped them at any moment, but He didn’t.
True power is not what the world says it is. To those who looked on as the bloody Jesus carried his cross, He looked weak and powerless. We know, however, that within Him was all the power in the universe.
So one sign of true power is to do the will of God regardless of how you look on the outside and even sometimes how you feel inside.
This last verse of a hymn by Charles Wesley demonstrates the power we have when we surrender to God:
All things are possible to God;
To Christ, the power of God in me;
Now shed Thy mighty Self abroad,
Let me no longer live, but Thee;
Give me this hour in Thee to prove
The sweet omnipotence of love.
APPLICATION
No longer look at those who have great wealth, high education, big titles, connections and worldly influence as ones that have true power. Ones that have true power may be blessed to have these things, but the ones who have true power have surrendered themselves to God and let Him reign through them. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that He may increase.” This holds true for you and me. Do all things in love. And as the bible says, "Don't be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good."
I, like many other Christians, used to become so angry at the corruption I see in our government, and the world's governments. I felt adamant that I should do something to expose what's really going on. I began to feel powerless believing that the wicked controlled the media and that they would continue to lie and get away with so much evil. I started to see conspiracies in so many events. I now believe that kind of thinking is a trap to avoid.
One day I came across a verse from the book of Proverbs that brought me peace. It says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever he wishes." (Proverbs 21:1). I realized that God is in control and I need not worry. God certainly does not condone the evil that is done by many of our leaders but He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure: ~ Psalm 2:1-5
In conlusion I would like to say that the greatest and only undefeatable power in the universe is Love, not force.
J. Lawrence Finley
Evidently Mussolini had not listened very attentively to the shouts of the past. Had he done so, from the spot where he stood he could have heard the dying groans of the Roman Empire. All about him were the relics of a civilization that was unable to perpetuate itself by force.
Perhaps Mussolini had never studied the history of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Evidently he had never meditated on the downfall of Napoleon. In his ignorance of the past, he was blind to the fact that his own house was built on sand.
No nation has ever maintained itself permanently by force alone. If it does not go down before a combination of powers, it suffers inner disintegration because it loses the loyalty of its own people. Only when force is the expression of righteousness does it permanently endure.
COMMENTARY
I used to think that to have power meant you had to have great wealth and great authority. The scriptures beg to differ. Take Jesus for example. In the eyes of the affluent, the religious leaders and the Romans he wasn’t one to be esteemed. He didn’t possess any grand titles, he had no wealth, he wasn’t educated by some elite teacher of the day, and he didn’t even have his own home.
It is also ironic that Napoleon is mentioned in the story above because he once stated, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded great empires, but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force! Jesus alone founded his empire on love, and to this very day millions would die for him. I think I understand something of human nature, and I tell you that all these were men and I am a man. None else was like him. Jesus Christ was more than a man.”
I have always been a little perplexed in understanding Napoleon. Though he is notoriously remembered for being a brutal and violent man, I believe that he knew there was a greater power out there and a path more noble than the one he chose.
For example, one night, it has been written, that he was with many of his leaders on the ship "L'Orient" headed for Egypt. As the men sat on the deck, they engaged in a discussion of religion. The opinion was generally expressed that the belief in God was an ancient idea which had once served a valuable purpose but was no longer needed by intelligent people. Napoleon was silent as he listened to the conversation. As he arose to go to his room he pointed to the stars shining brilliantly in the darkness and said, "Messieurs, who made all that?"
Jesus, being fully man and fully God, had the power to do whatever he wanted. But he came to fulfill a mission. Part of His mission was to give the world an example of how we each should live. As the Romans brutally whipped him to the edge of death he could’ve stopped them at any moment, but He didn’t.
True power is not what the world says it is. To those who looked on as the bloody Jesus carried his cross, He looked weak and powerless. We know, however, that within Him was all the power in the universe.
So one sign of true power is to do the will of God regardless of how you look on the outside and even sometimes how you feel inside.
This last verse of a hymn by Charles Wesley demonstrates the power we have when we surrender to God:
All things are possible to God;
To Christ, the power of God in me;
Now shed Thy mighty Self abroad,
Let me no longer live, but Thee;
Give me this hour in Thee to prove
The sweet omnipotence of love.
APPLICATION
No longer look at those who have great wealth, high education, big titles, connections and worldly influence as ones that have true power. Ones that have true power may be blessed to have these things, but the ones who have true power have surrendered themselves to God and let Him reign through them. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that He may increase.” This holds true for you and me. Do all things in love. And as the bible says, "Don't be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good."
I, like many other Christians, used to become so angry at the corruption I see in our government, and the world's governments. I felt adamant that I should do something to expose what's really going on. I began to feel powerless believing that the wicked controlled the media and that they would continue to lie and get away with so much evil. I started to see conspiracies in so many events. I now believe that kind of thinking is a trap to avoid.
One day I came across a verse from the book of Proverbs that brought me peace. It says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever he wishes." (Proverbs 21:1). I realized that God is in control and I need not worry. God certainly does not condone the evil that is done by many of our leaders but He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure: ~ Psalm 2:1-5
In conlusion I would like to say that the greatest and only undefeatable power in the universe is Love, not force.
J. Lawrence Finley
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