Power struggle

The use and abuse of power has been everywhere in the news lately.

The jailing in Iran of the journalist, Roxana Saberi, is evidence of power being wielded in the cause of either justice or injustice, depending on whose side you take.

The liberation from Somali pirates of Sea Captain Richard Phillips by US Navy seals, and then of 20 Yemeni fishermen by Dutch forces saw power being used in the cause of freedom.

President Obama’s talk of a ‘new beginning’ with Cuba finds arguably the most powerful man in the world seeking to exercise his power in the cause of reconciliation.

Closer to home, serious questions have been raised about the extent to which some officers policing the G20 protests in London abused their power by using excessive force. And local councils face new restrictions on their surveillance powers, following accusations that they are currently abusing them.

In all of this it’s all too easy to regard God as a powerless presence in our world. However, the tales told in 2 Kings of the exploits of Elijah and Elisha confront us with the truth that God is able to work mightily in power in his world, through the presence of his Spirit.

Nowhere is this more dramatically displayed than in the resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrated last week. And according to Paul, this same power that raised Christ from the dead is now at work in us (Ephesians 1:18–21). So, like Elijah and Elisha, we have been empowered by God to make all the difference in the world.

Nigel Hopper