
Why Bother With Order?
First Things First
Thirty-three years ago this month, we moved into the house that we still live in today. At the time, our oldest son was eight, our youngest was four and I was six months pregnant.
It was a snowy, rainy, and cold January day and not a jolly holiday for me. But our sons certainly had a gay old time. They ran in and out the doors, all over the big yard and then discovered the clothes shoot in the basement. They took turns climbing, tugging and pulling each other through the shoot, never growing tired or weary of the fun they found.
I stood in the kitchen and told my husband and brother where to put the boxes. But, eventually, I was too tired to tell them where to set boxes and they stacked up wherever there found space. Overwhelmed is too small of a word to use to describe my condition on that day.
Yet, I knew order had to be established and once the truck was unloaded, my husband and I went to work with the priorities.
First, we set up the boys’ beds. Never mind the fact that the floor in the converted attic space where they would sleep was a hideous color or the fact that there were no clothes closets in their space. What mattered most was that they would have beds to sleep in that night.
Then there was the kitchen. We could order a pizza and have it delivered for our dinner, but there needed to be some semblance of order so I could cook breakfast the next morning. Consequently, I proceeded to unpack boxes placing dishes and silverware where they belonged. Never mind that the metal cabinets and drawers squeeked when I opened them. Never mind that the linoleum on the floor was unsightly and ancient.
By the time the day was done, our sons were snuggled safe and sound in bed, the coffee pot set for the morning and my husband and I under blankets on the living room floor. We’d decided that our bed could wait until tomorrow.
God’s Order
I don’t doubt that we all crave order in our lives. Though sometimes we may want to buck or ignore God’s order, we’ve all been created to live within the bounds of God’s ordered universe.
Think about gravity. It is created to keep us on the planet. Without gravity, none of us would be grounded to the Earth. Instead, we’d be floating all over kingdom come. And yet, none of us question gravity’s relativity to our lives. We simply benefit from it in our lives.
Then there is the arrangement of seasons. Spring follows winter. Summer follows spring and fall follows summer. Not only do the seasons have an enormous influence on plant growth and vegetation, the various seasons bring variety to the weather and our landscape.
The sun and moon follow a system of organization established by God for them as well. The moon rules over the night sky while the sun rules over the day sky.
The Goodness in God’s Order
The system of order helps us to know what to expect. For instance, winter brings snow and short days. With summer comes longer hours of daylight and warmer temperatures.
With the vegetation that grows in our yard I know what to anticipate. I get cherries from our cherry trees, apples from our apple tree and pears from our pear tree. I do not expect to find any edible fruit on our large spruce tree, just green branches year round.
Why Bother With Order?
Why bother with order? God’s order is seen and experienced in nature. It is an order that makes sense and benefits everyone. Whether you believe that the order in the universe is established by God or not, you are still a beneficiary of God’s goodness.
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