Right now at Kaleid, we are exploring power as a worthy topic for seeing ourselves, others, and our communities. We are considering the statement, “Love is expressed in the world through our power. To be able to love and be loved is to have both power and vulnerability. Love happens in the spaces where those two things meet.”
Dear Kaleid Ladies,
You are powerful. When you express yourself in the world, things shift.
When you hold the gaze of a hurting friend, a heart softens.
When you add your leadership to a project, a vision ensues.
When you offer empathy to a teenager, trust grows.
When you consume a healthy meal, your body heals.
When you spend money at a boutique, the owner benefits.
We tend to think about power as being hierarchical. We think that someone, the person “on top,” has the power. But we all have power. Even a crying baby has the power to move his parents from their sleep to his crib in less than twenty seconds.
We also tend to think about power as being active. Doing things or having things makes us powerful. But negative space is potent, too. Silence in response to a heartfelt email has the power to drive a wedge into a relationship.
Power doesn’t reside only with the leaders, nor does it reside only in activity.
To express our power in the world is to interact at the level of our agency with our environment. God made us in his image and wants us to express love in the world. He formed each of us uniquely, to show the world what the kingdom of God looks like when it is lived out in real time, on earth.
How does God express love?
In word and in flesh.
In Genesis, God’s power is God’s word, delightedly speaking creation into existence. In John, this Word becomes flesh, bringing restorative power into the physical realm.
As image bearers, we have word-power, too. What we say, what we don’t say...what we know, what we learn...how we listen, how we understand...our word-power can express or diminish love.
As image bearers, we also have flesh-power. Our size, our shape...our possessions, our networks...our strength, our touch...our flesh-power can express or diminish love.
Diane Langberg says, “Godly power starts in the kingdom of our hearts, is expressed in the flesh, and then moves out into the world.” (p. 11)
And so, when we think about our power, we must ask how our heart is doing. We must consider whether our heart is grounded in God’s love as we move out into the world, in our word and flesh power.
Because we will move out into the world in our power. Tending to the kingdom of our hearts helps us move in self-control--that precious fruit of the Spirit that enables us to consciously express ourselves, in word and deed, from the beloved center of who we are.
What kind of word power do you have? What kind of flesh power? And, how is your heart doing today?
Maybe today is a good day to let your Creator remind your heart that it is deeply loved and that you are safe to express love. Maybe today is a good day to notice the beauty of your particular God-given power-package. Maybe today is a good day to bring awareness to how you express God’s life in the world through your word-power and through your flesh-power.
Wherever you find yourself today on this journey, we pray that you go in peace and strength. You are loved.
Gratefully,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. The resource that has guided us is a book by Diane Langberg called Redeeming Power. It is very worth the read. Using Dr. Langberg’s frameworks as a guide, we invite you to a new habit of noticing power and its outworking in your life and loves.