Left-handed Power

Left-handed power is the strength of God revealed in Jesus.

By Anthony Mullins, Church Planter
Durham, North Carolina, US

“Left-handed power,” is a phrase promoted by Robert Farrar Capon, an American Episcopal priest. It describes the surprising way God works in the world, not through domination, coercion, or spectacle, but through humility and self-giving love. This concept helps us see the heart of the gospel.

In Scripture, what we might call “right-handed power” is the obvious kind: force, control, and visible success. It is the power of empires, religious posturing, and human striving. But in Jesus Christ, we encounter something altogether different. The Son of God does not conquer Rome by force; he submits to a cross. He does not overwhelm sinners; he eats with them. He does not save the world by crushing enemies, but by forgiving them.

This is left-handed power.

Jesus is the definitive revelation of how God exercises power. In the Incarnation, the eternal Son takes on flesh — not as a display of divine muscle, but as an act of profound self-emptying love (Philippians 2:5–11). His ministry consistently subverts expectations: he blesses the poor, welcomes children, and identifies with the least. The climax comes at Calvary, where apparent defeat becomes the very means of cosmic victory. The resurrection does not negate the cross; it vindicated the left-handed way of the cross.

Left-handed power is not a temporary strategy but an eternal reality rooted in God’s own life. The Father sends the Son in love. The Son offers his life in obedient trust. The Spirit empowers through quiet, transforming presence rather than coercive force. The triune life is marked by self-giving, mutual indwelling love. God’s power is relational instead of transactional, sacrificial love instead of domineering.

Since the church is sent as Jesus was sent (John 20:21), then our witness should reflect the same pattern. God’s mission is not about cultural dominance or persuasive pressure. It is about faithful presence, sacrificial love, patient hospitality, and hopeful endurance. The kingdom often advances not through spectacle but through small, faithful acts that mirror the cross-shaped life of Jesus.

Left-handed power frees the church from anxiety about worldly measures of success. It invites pastors, planters, and everyday disciples to trust that God works most deeply in places that look weak by conventional standards — storefront congregations, dinner tables, hospital rooms, and conversations in the neighborhood. Could it be that the Holy Spirit is most active where control is the least possible?

In a world obsessed with winning, left-handed power calls us to cruciform faithfulness. Because Christ is risen, we can afford to love extravagantly, serve humbly, and risk generously. The apparent weakness of the cross is, and always has been, the unstoppable power of the triune God at work for the life of the world.

A fitting spiritual practice that embodies left-handed power is what might be called the practice of hidden mercy. This is the intentional act of doing small, concrete good for someone without being credited or repaid — a quiet participation in the cruciform life of Christ.

Here’s what I recommend you pray:
Holy Spirit, show me one person I can bless today without getting the credit.