Strength vs. weakness

Some people see religion as a crutch, something the weak need to help them deal with the difficulties life brings.

This may be true of many religions, but there are two ways (aside from its verity) in which Christianity differs from these.

First of all, Christianity readily acknowledges that it is a religion for the weak. St. Paul says "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12, 8-10) If you're strong enough to be able to stand between God and Satan in your own strength, then you don't need a Savior; you're already better than the rest of us, and Christianity isn't the religion for you.

And when asked why he ate with tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus replied, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mk 2, 17)

But Christianity is not a crutch for those who just need a little help getting to heaven. It is a gurney to carry in those who have no hope of getting there themselves.

I am so weak. Lord, may I live by your strength.