I was talking to my victory group about the book of Ephesians tonight when another weird thought struck me: discipleship and Captain America. This is another one of the few weird ideas that came up in my devotional hour these past few days. In my previous post, I wrote about discipleship and nitrogen fixing bacteria. I have yet to write about thermodynamics when Captain America forced its way into my writing priorities.
You see, Ephesians 1.3 is still stuck in my head. I am literally blown away with the idea that before the world was ever created, God has already put into place every kind of spiritual blessing that I would ever need in this life. In verse 18, that idea is magnified a a few knots higher. Paul said that the “incredibly great power” of God is at work in the lives of those who believe. What does it mean?
It means that God’s power is in your life.
But that’s just the beginning. In verse 20, Paul said that the power you have in your life right now IS THE SAME power that God EXERTED to raise Jesus from the dead. Not only that, it is also THE SAME power that He used to put Jesus on the throne, high above all the powers and authority and dominion known to mankind.
When we think of it that way, it can sound so grand but so detached from human experience. But what if I tell you that the verses we read actually tell us that God has heavily invested so much in our lives that we can never afford to be defeated?
Like Captain America.
Contained within his buff body and strong physique is the millions of dollars of scientific research that would probably go to waste if Steve Rogers didn’t begin to use his abilities to win the war. Rogers had the enhanced body, he can do a lot more than what he was doing, he can be a deadly weapon, but what did he do at first? He worked as a clown!
Can you see the connection? The government invested all its scientific and financial resources on Rogers but he was living like a loser. Like so many Christians all over the world today. God put into place all the blessings they would ever need in this life and all the power of heaven is invested on them. Unfortunately, they live like clowns, downtrodden and defeated. They never really realize that they have within them the power to be victorious in Jesus.
In the movie, Captain America came to his senses and became the winner he was created to be. But that’s just Hollywood and pop culture. Your story is totally dependent on what you do now after reading this.
Jojo Agot 