God Made My Life Complete

Some might say community begins with opening up to other people. I believe it begins with transparency before God. Two people, each in a trusting relationship with God, when they come together, have the basis and possibility of real community. If I am open before God and fully trust him and you are too, we cannot help but find a way to trust each other.

The work in a relationship is not in hammering out agreements and contracts. The hard work is making room for Christ in the relationship. And it is not really that hard. It actually takes less effort to include the Lord than to exclude him. On the other hand, a hardened attitude of self-sufficiency is a community killer.

There are steps that we can take to prepare ourselves for dynamic Christ-centered community.

1. Give God everything, the good and the bad. In 2 Samuel 22 David writes: "God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him."

God is ready to act. But he must have all the pieces. To hold back anything from God is self-sabotaging and relationship sabotaging.

2. Give God something new to work with. David said, "When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start."

New attitudes, new priorities and new values become the building blocks of a fresh start. This is the essence of repentance, which is the only way we have of showing our love for God. Jesus said, "If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you" (John 14:15).

3. Examine God's ways and align with him. David goes on, "I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted. Everyday I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick."

Strategic planning that takes no account of God's involvement is no better than aimless living. This principle is expressed beautifully in the following prayer, penned by Russian Orthodox bishop Philaret of Moscow: "Help me to rely upon your holy will at every moment.... Teach me to treat whatever may happen to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all."

The story of Job teaches us that while God's ways cannot be second-guessed, they can be discerned with open eyes and ears. Job says, "I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all first hand--from my own eyes and ears" (Job 42:5).

St. Paul also helps us understandGod's generosity in revealing his plans to us who trust him. "God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface.... But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open for you.... The Spirit brings out what God planned all along" (1 Cor. 2:7-10).

4. Cooperate with God's restorative work in you. David put it this way: "I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step."

After the total devastation of his life, and a stern, confrontational conversation with God, Job finally grasps the attitude he needs: "I'm convinced," he says to God, "You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans."

Now, God gives Job a ministry of intercession for the friends whose counsel had not been wise or helpful, and whose own relationships with God were in trouble. Job prays for his friends and God is pleased to answer his request. Why did God require Job to pray? By seeking the spiritual restoration of his friends, Job's active ministry of prayer reestablished him in healthy human community and prepared him to receive the restoration of his former wealth. But now it would be with a fresh appreciation with the proper attitude about the value of people and the value of money. "The good-hearted understand what it's like to be poor, the hardhearted haven't the faintest idea (Proverbs 29:7).

5. Get ready for a new autobiography. David concludes his thought: "God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."

David was an adulterer and murderer. Moses committed murder in the Egyptian slave camp. Rahab was a prostitute. Paul was a committed persecutor of Christians. Get the idea? Because they cooperated with God's restorative work, the story of their lives was rewritten with the God-glorifying alternate ending.