Unity News

August, 2003

COMMUNITY: THE BEST OF GOD'S PROVISION

By Pete Barker

(Pete Barker is an architect in Phoenix, Arizona and a leader in Phoenix'' Royal Palms Baptist Church. He is one of the founding DIrectors of Christian Unity Ministries.)

Where does your mind go when you hear the words “God’s provision?” Is it our daily bread, manna from heaven, or deliverance from evil? Maybe it’s the cattle on a thousand hills. If you get beyond temporal things it could be the atoning work of Christ on the cross, or the eternal reward of the unclouded day. All of these would be good answers, even scriptural answers. But surely God’s provision is more comprehensive than all of those things. There is a part of God’s provision in this life that is often overlooked, mostly underestimated, and perhaps as valuable as anything he offers us this side of Heaven.

It is a part of God’s provision which, more and more, is capturing the attention of Christian leaders and writers around the world today. Rick Warren notes (in “Purpose Driven Life”) that we are “Formed for God’s family.” John Ortberg in “Everybody’s Normal ‘Till You Get To Know Them” asserts that we were created to need and participate in “community.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to it as our “Life Together”. In Romans 12:5 Paul says that “each member belongs to all the others.” One of the most significant portions of God’s provision for every Christian is “Community”.

The Biblical concept of “community” seems to point to a greater bond than just choosing to relate to each other, ‘we fellowship together,’ or ‘we go to church together.’ The Biblical picture of community suggests a relationship that God established, better yet, designed. It is a relationship that we did not choose, and one that we cannot sever. If Christian community has more to it than meets the eye, then it is not much of a stretch to consider that God’s purpose likewise is far greater than a mere casual interest.

James begins to drive us in that direction in chapter 5:13-16. His urging that we participate together in celebration, prayer, and confession holds for us a truth about this relationship. All too often our attempts to understand God, the breadth of His love, and the completeness of His forgiveness end up being word games at best when we pursue this on our own. If we take James’ suggestion and share our sin with a brother or sister, God has an opportunity through that person to show us love, forgiveness, and acceptance in a real and tangible way. The same is true of comfort and encouragement, if we reach out and give God the chance to work that way. Paul calls the life of Christ in us the great “mystery of the ages”. This is probably more of an understatement than we know.

In his most recent book, John Ortberg makes the point that God chose to complete Adam by creating Eve. Is that only about marriage, or is there an eternal principle here about how God adds to our lives through the lives of others? Consider the fact that almost all of what God has revealed to us, He revealed to us through other people. And consider where you and I would be today if we did not feel vital to His purpose of reaching a lost world. For reasons only God fully understands, He has chosen to use the very imperfect vessels of humanity to accomplish His greatest purposes. This is what Paul was referring to as “treasure hidden in jars of clay.” We have long accepted that the Life of Christ in me is God’s direct provision for me. By this God can provide leadership and comfort. He can communicate directly with me. Why would I assume that God’s purpose in this would stop with me? Instead I should assume that it would flow from me to those around me? Some might think that this view weakens the picture of a sovereign God. How could that be? Only a sovereign God could choose to let us choose to obey, and choose to use finite beings to serve His purpose.

Here is the challenge. The next time that I need some blessing, or a word from God, do I trust Him enough to give that to me via another person? It is often easier to visualize ourselves being used that way in the lives of others than to expect others to be used that way in our lives. I am a Sunday School teacher, will I trust God to tell me through my class what to teach? As a husband will I see Christ’s life in my wife as His provision for me? With all my heart I believe that God’s design for the Church holds for us far more than we have tapped. It is more than a place to raise our kids and serve, It is a place to give and receive God’s provision. Next time you have a need or a struggle, will you retreat into your closet, or will you run to the community of believers where God has placed you, expecting Him to meet you there in those relationships?

___________________________________________________