intentionally natural

There’s a big difference between the intentional and the accidental. Intentionality speaks of purpose, design and even love. It means there is something bigger at work. And if that “something bigger” is behind it all, there’s a reason for it. Nothing is done haphazardly or by coincidence.

That is the definition, however, of the accidental. Something that happens by accident is random. It’s an unplanned, chance occurrence. The word usually implies a mistake, problem or even tragedy (i.e. car accident). In business, no company survives by simply allowing its customers to browse through their random, by-chance products.

I desperately want this church to be different. I want to participate in an intentional community. We serve a God of order and structure. He is the Grand Author, Designer and Sustainer. And this church will be intentional. We will love God and each other. We will live the way He says. We will lead the world closer to Him.

There is also a big difference between the natural and the unnatural. The natural is obvious to all of us. We immediately think of trees and grass; mountains and valleys; sunrises, sunsets and flocks of geese. Just about every human alive will testify to the wonder and beauty of nature. We try to box it in and contain it, but ultimately it is beyond us. It is unpredictable, untamable and surrounds us. We don’t command the natural, but simply live among it and try to enjoy it.

The unnatural is just the opposite. It is that which we command and manipulate. It is the manufactured world in which we all live and, quite frankly, take pleasure in. There is a certain beauty in a Porsche 911 or the new iPhone. I can certainly appreciate the blessings of a transcontinental airplane flight or my laptop. But when compared to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, that Porsche turns to dust. When contrasted with the oxygen I breathe in and out every second, can I really consider my laptop a blessing?

I desperately want this church to be different. I want to participate in a natural community. I don’t want to force or fabricate our love, lifestyle or leadership. I want to plant some seeds and watch them grow in completely unexpected and beautiful ways. I want it to be beyond my scope and control. I want it to inspire awe and wonder simply because it exists.

Is it possible, then, to be both intentional and natural? Perhaps it’s like a farmer’s field. It’s very intentional in the sense that he plants the seeds, cares for the soil, prunes the crops and then harvests the fruit. But it’s also very natural in the sense that he cannot force those seeds to produce. All he can really do is put them in the right place at the right time and take care of them.

The apostle Paul uses this analogy beautifully. He says that one servant of God might plant a seed and another servant might water. But “it’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process, but God, who makes things grow.” (We should all read and reread the context of 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 in an understandable version like The Message Bible.)
God, help us to be more like You. You are both intentional and natural. Everything You touch, all that You are, is beautiful and glorious. Help us to be intentionally natural!