New research in 2018 has discovered that bombs dropped during the Second World War were so large that they had an impact in the upper atmosphere up to 1,000km above the earth. Chris Scott from the University of Reading said that, ‘each raid released the energy of at least 300 lightning strikes. Fortunately, the effect of these shockwaves was short-lived, but it reminds us that the things we do on earth can have a profound effect far above us.
The New Testament speaks of a power that God has given to the church, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and the Greek word for power of course is dunamis from which we get our word dynamite. Writing to the church in Ephesus the Apostle Paul says that ‘through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.’
It’s a rather lovely thought that the church at its best – a community of people being transformed by Jesus Christ and wholeheartedly and sacrificially serving those around it – is not just changing lives on earth but causing those in heaven to sit up and take notice!
