Rethinking Power – Part Six: The God Powerful Enough to Trust Ordinary People

What if God's greatest display of power isn't doing everything himself, but entrusting his work to ordinary people?

The creation narrative of Genesis depicts an all-wise, all-powerful God bringing order out of chaos. Whether we read every detail literally or symbolically, the ancient Jewish understanding of Genesis suggests that God was doing far more than creating a material universe. He was creating a sacred place—a cosmic temple—where he would dwell with his creation.

The Garden of Eden was not merely a beautiful place. It was where heaven and earth met, where God lived among his people.

Into that sacred space God placed human beings—created in his image—and he entrusted them with his world.

Rather than ruling creation alone, God invited humanity to share in his work—to cultivate the garden, care for creation, and represent his loving rule throughout the earth. From the very beginning, God's purpose was not domination but partnership.

The seventh day becomes the climax of the story. Order comes to creation. Everything is in its proper place. The King assumes his throne—not to exclude humanity from his work—to dwell among them and invite them into it.

We know how the story is disrupted. Sin enters the picture, and fellowship with God is fractured. Humanity is driven from Eden, and the rest of Scripture becomes the story of a God who relentlessly searches for and redeems the people he loves.

Incredibly—allthough humanity has failed—God never abandons his original purpose. He continually moves toward his people.

First comes the tabernacle—a portable sanctuary carried through the wilderness as Israel journeys toward the Promised Land. God's presence travels with his people.

Later comes Solomon's Temple. Once again, heaven and earth meet in sacred space. The Holy of Holies represents the very place of God's throne. Israel comes to worship because God desires to dwell among his people.

But even the Temple was never the final destination. Jesus announces something revolutionary to the Samaritan woman:

"The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... but in Spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

The location of God's presence is changing, and the Apostle Paul carries that thought even further:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?" (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Think about how extraordinary that is. The story has moved from a garden...to a tent...to a magnificent stone temple...to ordinary people.

Every time Christians gather around the Lord's Table, we are reminded of this astonishing reality. Jesus takes bread and says, "This is my body." He takes the cup and says, "This is my blood." In Holy Communion, Christ not only reminds us that God once drew near to us through his life on Earth, but he gives of himself again and again, nourishing us with his life through his Holy Spirit.

Communion reminds us God's deepest desire has always been to dwell with his people. We leave the Table not merely having remembered Christ, but carrying his presence into the world.

God no longer asks people to come to sacred space.

He makes his people the sacred space.

What does this mean?

It means God's purpose has never changed. From Genesis onward, God has desired to dwell with humanity and accomplish his work through humanity.

He chooses ordinary people to be his representatives in the world—to care for his creation, to love their neighbors, to pursue justice, to build healthy families, strong schools, faithful churches, and flourishing communities.

God has not withdrawn from the world. He is still bringing life, healing, beauty, and redemption into it, but he has chosen not to work alone. He works through his people.

Suddenly, everything takes on new meaning.

• The way we treat one another.

• The way we raise our children.

• The way we care for our neighborhoods.

• The way we serve our communities.

• The work we do.

• The vote we cast.

• The stranger we welcome.

  
  

None of it is ordinary anymore. We live in sacred space because God's Spirit lives among his people.

Authoritarian leaders believe society flourishes when power is concentrated in the hands of a few. The God revealed in Scripture does something altogether different. He shares responsibility. He entrusts his world to people made in his image.

That trust is risky. People sometimes misuse the freedom God gives them. But from Eden until today, God has never abandoned his plan of working through ordinary people.

Perhaps that tells us something profound about power. Real power is secure enough to trust others with meaningful responsibility.

And perhaps that tells us something about ourselves. Every time we leave the Lord's Table, we carry into the world the presence of the One who first came to dwell among us. The purpose of Communion is not simply to remember Christ. It is to become, once again, the people through whom Christ chooses to bless the world.

Wherever God's people go in love, mercy, truth, and service, heaven touches earth.

FOR REFLECTION

• Where do you tend to think of God's work as something only pastors, missionaries, or religious leaders do?

• What ordinary responsibility in your life might actually be sacred?

• If you believed your home, workplace, neighborhood, and community were places where God chooses to work through you, what would you do differently this week?

  
  

CALL TO ACTION

This week, choose one ordinary task and do it as an act of worship. Encourage a child. Check on a neighbor. Serve a coworker. Care for creation. Remember that wherever God's people live faithfully, sacred space is being restored.

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