Spiderman Part II

"With great power comes great responsibility."

That phrase has captured my attention for several years, particularly in light of my Lutheran-Christian faith.

We Lutherans are awfully good about articulating our theology of grace.  We talk very well about how all have fallen short of the glory of God; we don't measure up to His standards.  In reality, if God wanted to punish us, He could, without a second thought.

But, God has chosen not to.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has acted to bring about our salvation.  (For those not entirely familiar with this process, you'll just have to trust me.  Many books have been written on the subject, and there are far too many details to go into at this juncture.)  When we deserved punishment, God extended love.  We call this grace.

Lutherans have usually articulated these acts of God by using the Law/Gospel dialectic.  We are condemned by the law, but we are saved by grace. 

Unfortunately, we often stop right there.  Is that all there is?  Law/Gospel, that's it?

No.

The Lutheran faith also calls for a response to the Gospel.  We are called to respond to God's graciousness by living lives of service and devotion to God.  Even though we are sinners, God has given us His grace and the power of His Holy Spirit.  We have been filled with mercy.  What do we do with it?

With great power comes great response ability.  Yes, I separated the two words purposely.  We have the ability to respond, and we do so not out of fear of God or a desire to please Him and avoid punishment; rather, we respond with acts of service and love because of what God first did for us.  We respond because we want to, not because we have to.

With great power comes great responsibility.  Yep. 

My kind of hero.