Leading With LimitationsSample

Omnipotence essentially means being “all-powerful.” When Jesus was on Earth, He clearly retained some of His God-powers (take Him cursing the fig tree in Matthew 21:19 as one example). But He limited His use of these powers.

When He was betrayed and arrested, the disciples tried to defend Him against the Roman guard. But Jesus said to them, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Jesus restrained the use of His powers, even up to the moment of His death.

Smartphones give us access to unimaginable power. They enable us to do so much that we couldn’t do otherwise. With a few taps on our screen, practically anything we want can be delivered to our house. We can contact anyone in the world at any time. Using AI, we can conjure up elaborate, believable illusions like mythological wizards.

But power, on its own, is not always a positive thing.

As journalist Robert Caro once put it, “Power doesn’t always corrupt. What power always does is reveal. When a guy gets into a position where he doesn’t have to worry anymore, then you see what he wanted to do all along.”

We can use power for good or evil purposes, but Jesus gives us the example of voluntarily limiting our use of power in order to make space for closer relationships.