The God of Order
by David Gibson
A place for everything, and everything in its place
Occasionally, I visit a farm supply store in our town. Like other such businesses, there are rows of shelves neatly displaying merchandise by category: work and casual clothing, tires, tools, implements, and garden supplies. That is how it should be!
Imagine going into a store where everything is in a jumble with no discernible order at all. Who would want to shop there?
In our homes, knowing where our things are kept is a great time saver, and if we can keep it that way, it has a positive psychological effect on us.
In walking around our town, I used to see a terribly junky place directly across the street from an extremely neat and well-maintained house and yard. One was an eyesore, while the other is a sight for sore eyes. Since then, the junky place has been demolished. Good riddance!
Apparently, some folks think nothing of living in a constant state of chaotic mess.
Where order originates
That our God believes in doing things in an orderly way is evident in the very first chapter of the Bible. Initially, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2 NASB). Then methodically, day by day, He brings beautiful order out of primal chaos. By week’s end, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
During Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God designed the logistics of their moves from place to place, even down to the precise order in which the tribes would set out when they broke camp. He also organized the Levites into divisions of labor, assigning each group specific tasks for dismantling the tabernacle and setting it up again at the next location.
In the church’s worship today, “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (I Corinthians 14:40). This creates an atmosphere conducive to learning and mutual upbuilding.
Perhaps the best way to describe our current culture is “Out of Order.”
As those who have been brought “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9), may we exemplify what John Greenleaf Whittier’s hymn so beautifully expresses,
“Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.”
