Okay, so perhaps the title of the post is overstating it a bit. Perhaps we should think of God as a God of order and disorder. Order is clear as you read through the Scriptures. A set pattern for creation. The simple way that we humans are made and function within the world He created for us. If you read through Exodus, you see a God of order at work, issuing things like the manner of life He expects of His people and the construction of His tabernacle on earth.
Yet, you also cannot read through the Scriptures without getting a sense that God is very much like the way C. S. Lewis describes Aslan, the Christ figure in the Narnia series. "He's not a tame lion." "Is he safe?" "No, but He's good." Just read through Jesus' words to Nicodemus in John 3 and you get a picture of a God who is above order. "The wind/breath/spirit blows where it will, and you do not know where it is coming from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." And yes, I do believe that Jesus leaves it very ambiguous on whether He is talking about the wind, our breath, or the Spirit of God. It proves the point. God is a God of great order, and yet, God also at times seems extraordinarily disorderly.
Perhaps that is mostly due to the fact that we tend to focus on one side of this equation, or the other. We see God's order, and we feel comfortable with that order. We look for that order in all things, even in the way that God's Spirit works to create faith and draw people to Himself. So we set about designing an orderly way, say, of evangelism, where you follow a script, memorize verses, and the like. Yet, then we are surprised when that doesn't work the way we expect it might. If God is a God of order, why doesn't He do things the same way every time? Why don't we organize our worship times to be exactly the same everywhere? And yet, we see God working through things that so often seem disorderly.
Or, we go the other way. God's Spirit cannot be predicted or confined, so we aim to "leave things to the Spirit." Why have order to, say, a worship service if God's Spirit works in ways other than a set worship order? Why think through a way of engaging someone with our faith in God if God's Spirit is simply going to do the leading? So we strive for disorder, and yet are surprised that God works through regular ways that He Himself indicates do what He says (like baptism and the Lord's Supper).
We find it difficult to hold this tension. That shouldn't be surprising, after all, we are a creation out of step with God and His creational aspirations for us. When we expect order, God may respond with order, or He may respond in ways unanticipated. When we expect that God will work in many and various and unusual ways, God responds with a call to observe how He created and wills for things to operate in this messy world. God perfectly holds in tension that which we are unable. And even more incredibly, God perfectly forgives through a bloody cross and an empty tomb, working through this seemingly chaotic course of events to bring His restoration through orderly means again and again.
Perhaps the opening title isn't so off base, then. It seems like chaos to us. But to the God who is able to hold order and disorder in perfect tension, it makes perfect sense. And our faith clings to that God who is able to do that which we cannot.
Yet, you also cannot read through the Scriptures without getting a sense that God is very much like the way C. S. Lewis describes Aslan, the Christ figure in the Narnia series. "He's not a tame lion." "Is he safe?" "No, but He's good." Just read through Jesus' words to Nicodemus in John 3 and you get a picture of a God who is above order. "The wind/breath/spirit blows where it will, and you do not know where it is coming from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." And yes, I do believe that Jesus leaves it very ambiguous on whether He is talking about the wind, our breath, or the Spirit of God. It proves the point. God is a God of great order, and yet, God also at times seems extraordinarily disorderly.
Perhaps that is mostly due to the fact that we tend to focus on one side of this equation, or the other. We see God's order, and we feel comfortable with that order. We look for that order in all things, even in the way that God's Spirit works to create faith and draw people to Himself. So we set about designing an orderly way, say, of evangelism, where you follow a script, memorize verses, and the like. Yet, then we are surprised when that doesn't work the way we expect it might. If God is a God of order, why doesn't He do things the same way every time? Why don't we organize our worship times to be exactly the same everywhere? And yet, we see God working through things that so often seem disorderly.
Or, we go the other way. God's Spirit cannot be predicted or confined, so we aim to "leave things to the Spirit." Why have order to, say, a worship service if God's Spirit works in ways other than a set worship order? Why think through a way of engaging someone with our faith in God if God's Spirit is simply going to do the leading? So we strive for disorder, and yet are surprised that God works through regular ways that He Himself indicates do what He says (like baptism and the Lord's Supper).
We find it difficult to hold this tension. That shouldn't be surprising, after all, we are a creation out of step with God and His creational aspirations for us. When we expect order, God may respond with order, or He may respond in ways unanticipated. When we expect that God will work in many and various and unusual ways, God responds with a call to observe how He created and wills for things to operate in this messy world. God perfectly holds in tension that which we are unable. And even more incredibly, God perfectly forgives through a bloody cross and an empty tomb, working through this seemingly chaotic course of events to bring His restoration through orderly means again and again.
Perhaps the opening title isn't so off base, then. It seems like chaos to us. But to the God who is able to hold order and disorder in perfect tension, it makes perfect sense. And our faith clings to that God who is able to do that which we cannot.
No comments:
Post a Comment