Strong spirits: power

Which do you think is more powerful, love or hate?

If your only reference is the news of the world, it would be likely for you to say, "Hate." Hate always gets the headlines, and there is no doubt it dominates much of our daily news, and our daily lives.

But if you have knowledge of and faith in God, and if you are acquainted with his word, you will likely say "Love." Here is the equation that makes sense to me:

• "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
• God created the universe (Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3).
• Therefore, Love created the universe.  Therefore Love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Hatred and evil have always and continue to raise their ugly heads.  But to no avail.  God/Love is far more powerful, continues to reign, and despite appearances, is in control, can be trusted, and will win in the end.

We will be wise to ignore as much of the evil and hatred as we can, courageously deal with what we cannot ignore in God's power and love, and keep our eyes on Jesus, who came to undo the works of the devil, and to set us free! He continues to reign, and we can trust him completely.

Besides serving as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church, Gary Schwerin is the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - to see them all, subscribe to our daily email.

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(Ironically, the laptop ran out of power at the very end. But you'll get the picture- so to speak!)