William Gladstone, former prime minister of Great Britain, once said, “We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.”
Without knowing it, Mr. Gladstone really was longing for the return from heaven of our Lord, who is the Prince of Peace. The Lord Jesus Christ will usher in the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Until Jesus comes, there will be no peace, for mankind loves power but does not know how to use it properly.
Jeremiah tells us “0 LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Men who rise to positions of power are prone to the same weaknesses as ordinary men, but their position gives them more opportunity to indulge these weaknesses. Machiavelli once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Since men do not know how to direct their steps, as Jeremiah tells us, when they get power they are apt to use it the wrong way, as a means to violently inflict their will upon others, in some cases causing untold oppression and suffering. As Jesus explained, out of the heart of men proceed evil things such as murders, thefts, and wickedness. Powerful men, who are not subject to the restraints which apply to most, have the opportunity to commit as many of these evil deeds as they wish, becoming utterly corrupt.
Isaiah tells us, “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.”
As long as men love power, there will be no peace. Men’s love for power overshadows the power of love because the powerful, the wicked, and the aggressors have great impact on the affairs of this world. Therefore, the power of love gets little opportunity to exhibit its wonderful influence while the love of power rules.
God’s promise that the meek shall inherit the earth is at present simply a promise and certainly not a reality. Three times our Heavenly Father has told us that there is a time coming when “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” When the earth is filled with the knowledge of God, then the power of love will become a reality.
As long as mankind fills the earth with violence, there will be no peace. The change can only happen when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and breaks in pieces the kingdoms of this world who love the power that causes such turmoil. We are told in the Revelation what Jesus will do when he comes. “Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he himself (Jesus) will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
The chaos that men’s love of power has caused will be removed when Jesus comes in power and great glory, and his power will be absolute It will not be corrupt as the world’s power has all these years, for we are told, “in righteousness he judges and wages war”
Isaiah tells us more about the blessings of that future age “But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth, he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea “
Mr Gladstone’s dream about the power of love will then be a reality and “then will our world know the blessings of peace “
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One