There are other dimensions to 'weak:' lacking in bodily strength or healthy vigor, as from age or sickness; feeble; lack of authority or governing power.
Wow. That's enough for me. I don't want to qualify for any of that.
Most of us want to appear strong whether or not we actually are. People use many devices to appear strong. Some use sheer force of personality. Some want to control the actions of other people, and some use emotional force to manipulate others. These may create an illusion of strength, but a person of insight will immediately recognize these as signs of weakness rather than strength.
True strength starts with admitting our limitations and weaknesses. In fact, this is one of the first steps in spiritual growth. We must admit these in order to have the ability to acknowledge our dependence on God. You realize as you get older that true strength looks a lot like weakness on the surface. Strong people have no need to create an illusion of strength. They have the real thing. There is no need to be pushy, opinionated or forceful in a person of real strength. Often it is quiet and unobtrusive ... but there it resides.
The most effective and productive strength comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. These people are not relying on human strength. They have a super human strength, one not possible through human means alone. It's the real deal.
Authentic strength serves rather than controls. Jesus, our supreme example, is a perfect example of this. The very creator of the cosmos chose to come to earth as a weaker being - a human - and voluntarily gave up his life in order to make it possible for mankind to fellowship with him. He came to serve. This is the hard lesson we need to learn. Serving sounds weak. It is the epitome of strength.
As you get older you begin to notice that the older, quieter people in church are usually the very strong ones ... the ones people really rely on for wisdom. Unfortunately, in our culture today, fewer people recognize true strength or true wisdom when they run into it. Those people will pay a very steep price for that. Until they realize where strength comes from, and Who has it, they will never have it, and it takes strength to successfully navigate through this life, especially in these days and the days to come.
When the disciples were jockeying for position in Christ's Kingdom the scripture teaches us that they still had a way to go in Christian maturity. The mother of two of them actually came with them to lobby for position, asking for a position for each at either side of his throne. Talk about a back-stage mother! The other ten disciples were filled with indignation (probably for their own selfish reasons).
Jesus used this opportunity to patiently teach them about what his kingdom was really about, and how attainment to it was very different than to earthly kingdoms, saying, "... But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister [servant]; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant [slave]: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:26-28
Those disciples had been with Christ for less than three overwhelming years, but they learned the lesson well in the years to follow as they suffered many things during their ministries.
Paul, too, began to learn about true strength when he asked for his 'thorn' in the flesh to be removed, and God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9. Paul's response was, "When I am weak, then I am strong." (V. 10).
The follower of Christ needs to be serious about obedience and will seek early to learn this fundamental truth. Our strength will come from the quiet assurance that our submission to the source of all power, God himself, makes us strong.
A Royal Heir
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