December 25, 2009
Washington is obsessed with power, or the illusion of it, which is not the same. Power here is self-centered and incapable of changing a life in meaningful ways.
Contrast this with the birth of Jesus. There is nothing weaker than a baby. His humble surroundings would have qualified his family for a government program.
Yet he possessed real power: the power to reach our deepest need; to be forgiven of our sins and to enjoy a relationship with god impossible without him.
Mao Zedong, who killed millions in his pursuit of earthly power and whose body now lies in a grave while his soul is in hell, once wrote that power comes from the barrel of a gun. No, it doesn't. Real power comes from an empty tomb.
The manger led to the cross and the tomb, but it also led to a risen Christ who is alive and who makes us alive when we receive him. When meek souls who receive him, the dear Christ enters in. Merry Christmas!
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.