On Order

The sixth chapter of Ephesians contains one of the most quoted verses in all of the Bible. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Ephesians 6:12) The common interpretation of this verse is that people of faith are in (or should be in) a constant struggle with the systems and forces of this world that seek to usurp God’s order and send us all spiraling into chaos and darkness. 

As appealing as this interpretation is, as comforting as it can be to those of us who seek a sense of order and security, I wonder about the broad idea that our struggle is to (help) create order. For one thing, theologians and social scientists have noted that the “powers and principalities” of the earth, though they create many injustices, still serve to maintain an order that is pleasing to God, or, if not pleasing to God, then at least an order that is broadly beneficial to humanity. If our job, as Christians and as human beings, is to struggle against the powers that create a recognizable version of order, where is God? What order is God trying to achieve and would we even recognize it if we saw it?

Question: Is God’s idea of order as limited as our own?

The motion of particles in a fluid seems disorderly and chaotic to us. This type of movement is called brownian motion and is defined thus, "the erratic random movement of microscopic particles in a fluid, as a result of continuous bombardment from molecules of the surrounding medium." We cannot quantify or predict those movements. But if God is who we say God is, the Creator and sustainer of all things, might it be that God is able to comprehend the patterns in the seemingly chaotic? Might God see order where we do not? Might God understand pattern on a level incomprehensible to humanity? Why then do we limit God’s idea of order to what we can calculate or comprehend?

Brownian Motion: image credit "physics.TutorCircle.com"

Convergence:

I am not advocating for the devolution of society into anarchy, but a less managed society can still be orderly, especially if we expand our imagination of what order can be. A messier set of human relationships, defined by a more equitable distribution of power would indeed more chaotic and far more difficult to manage, but if a greater distribution of power leads to more human flourishing then the cost would be worth it. Where can we loosen things up, slacken the grip of order, efficiency, and organization so that God might do more work in the revealed space?