He's Mighty Mighty

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

- Mark 9:23

“I believe in God the Father, almighty …”

- from The Apostles’ Creed

Do we really believe that God is almighty? How about no-mighty or some-mighty or quite-mighty? To say that God the Father is “almighty” means that we believe that he has all power, that he’s fully free, that he made all and owns all and redeems all and will be crowned king over all.

This is a bald, bold assertion. We often struggle to make it. The modern world has doubted the idea of the mightiness of God in the face of so much pain and suffering in the world. In the wake of the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, Western philosophy began to reject the notion that God could possibly be almighty in a world full of suffering in pain.

But, let’s face it, the world of the apostles and the early Christians who wrote this creed was a world that knew a lot about pain. They experienced war, disease, famine, persecution, disasters, and children dying. Their world was brutal. As CS Lewis pointed out, this faith “was first preached, and long practised, in a world without chloroform.”

We hold on to this tension and believe in an Almighty God even in the face of a world full of pain and suffering.

What do you think are the benefits of holding on to this tension? What do you think makes it most difficult to hold on to this tension?

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