Powerful Meekness

I recognize that my title might be seen as an oxymoron, placing two terms that appear contradictory in conjunction with one another. However, like many other apparent paradoxes of the Christian faith, I think powerful meekness perfectly describes the goal of Christian character. This is because the phrase aptly describes the character of the One to whom we are supposed to become conformed: Jesus Christ.

Paul told the Philippians that we should imitate Jesus’ attitude when He came to earth. He said that Jesus “emptied Himself.” We should not take that to mean He was an empty vessel, however. Paul could also write that in Him all the fullness of the godhead was present. He emptied Himself of omnipresence when He became located in a human body. He emptied Himself of some degree of His omniscience, telling His disciples that only the Father knew certain things. He emptied Himself of some of the omnipotence He might have used. These immutable attributes could not be contained in a human vessel.

Still, in His not nearly empty state, He displayed the type of human character God would have all His children imitate. It might be called meekness. Although the incarnate Jesus had divested Himself of much of His eternal power and glory, the Scriptures attest that He was still fully God. I believe this is because He was full of the Holy Spirit – just as we are supposed to be. Jesus could accomplish this fulness “naturally” because His human nature was not from Adam as ours is. He achieved this one-of-a-kind state by being born of a virgin. From Mary He received a physical body like all Adam’s children, but His inner being was from God, and it could then be perfectly filled with the Spirit.

I don’t think any other human can ever be perfectly filled as Jesus was, but that doesn’t mean we should not be trying. After telling the Philippians to imitate Christ, he went on to describe what that would look like in the next chapter. Relating his own experience, he said he discounted all his natural, fleshly efforts and pointed to his desire to know Christ, to gain Christ, to be found in Him, and to know the power of His resurrection. This is important; he told the Romans that resurrection power is available to all who are found in Christ. Yet even as vessels filled with that power, we are to remain humble, realizing that it is all from God. That is powerful meekness.

Charlie Kirk demonstrated how that would look in a Christian today. He stood at the gates of Hell (aka college campuses) and proclaimed his faith in Christ. His meekness is shown in his refusal to answer his critics with “I this… or I that.” His answer was always, “The Bible says….” Because he was so powerful and successful in influencing others, the enemy rose up and slew him.  The Hebrew writer says the Word of God is powerful; when we humbly proclaim the Word in the face of the enemy, we are assured a victory, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences. Quite the contrary, the devil may redouble his efforts to silence us.

We must pray that no more good, godly men like Charlie Kirk will be physically assaulted. We must pray for Erika Kirk and the thousands of others who will stand up to fill Charlie’s vacancy. But we must not imagine that the enemy will leave us alone. Even as you fight your private battles when the enemy tries to invade your home in the dark hours, you must pray that God will fill you with His Spirit and remind you of His Word. Remember Jesus’ defense against Satan in the wilderness: “God’s Word says…” Remember that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Remember that if you resist the devil, he must flee from you.

Not by your might nor by your power, but by your humble submission to God’s design will you discover powerful meekness. We hope and pray that no one else will be murdered, but we also know that anyone who stands against the enemy will be attacked. Jesus promised that just as the world hated Him, His followers would be hated as well. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked permission to test him. Notice the enemy used Peter’s weakness as the ground of his attack. Peter failed the test at first because he let the enemy use his human nature against him. It wasn’t until Peter looked into his Savior’s eyes that he understood his failure.

In the midst of our battles, we must look to Jesus. He promised never to leave us nor forsake us; that means He is always there. We can’t know whether He will deliver us from harm, or if He will stand with us through the challenge knowing that trials perfect us. Remember that when Paul prayed to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed, God told him that His grace was sufficient for him. Paul recognized that the thorn was given to keep him humble. Paul endured the thorn, and glorified God in spite of it. That too is powerful meekness.

Even though Charlie Kirk may have fallen to an enemy’s bullet on the physical battlefield, in the more important cosmic battle he was fighting, he has scored a great victory. Millions of people world-wide are saying, “Enough!” The true haters are being revealed in their hypocrisy. Millions of people, not necessarily all believers (yet), are coming to see that the real battlefield was not a college campus in Utah, but rather a cosmic, spiritual battle that we are all engaged in whether we realize it or not.

If you are a believer, you are in that battle on the Lord’s side. You don’t need to have a national platform or TV coverage to be an effective combatant. All you need is to be robed in the power that is promised us by the blood of Christ and confidently wield the weapon we have each been issued: the Sword of the Lord, God’s Word. “Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will exalt you,” James promised. “The battle belongs to the Lord,” David proclaimed facing Goliath; your battle is also the Lord’s, even if the battle front is in your private prayer closet. The Bible teaches that our true character comes from deep within – from our spirit. If you are winning the battle there, if your heart and mind are secure in the Lord, your powerful meekness will be obvious to everyone when you face the world.

Related Post: Judge Me by my Size, Do You?; You’re Killing Me