Maybe
God doesn’t care about order; or rather maybe he only cares about it as much as
he cares about chaos. Maybe he doesn’t care if every note in a musical piece is
played in complete harmony with the others. Maybe he doesn’t care if the
musician spent a long time tuning his instrument to get just the right sound.
Maybe God doesn’t care about sidewalks. Maybe he doesn’t care about umbrellas
either?
I
think it speaks to the nature of man to make sidewalks in places where God
makes wild. God didn’t create cities; he created gardens. Our desire to make
sense of our world is a gift from God, but it is also a burden. A burden so
great it can completely overwhelm our viewpoint. Blinding us to the truth, as
if truth is like rain and we hold up our umbrella to protect us from seeing it.
And if we hold too much to the search for order, logic, and answers - we miss a
great mystery of why God may care about sidewalks or umbrellas.
Strong
personalities write systematic theologies building on deduction by each
carefully thought out deduction. Building up truth and knowledge not only
protect themselves from doubt but to provide every answer uncertainty may seek.
While it is helpful, sometimes all the logic and deduction cannot prepare us
for the simple request that comes from God.
GO
If our
muscles don’t twitch from expectation of the Divine when we review these
manuals of theology, then what’s the point? If they do, then it has served a
great purpose.
When
God says go, what do we do? Do we go immediately? Do we carefully consider why
would God call us to _____? Do search for answers from friends and teachers? Do
look for signs and sidewalks? OR do we simply go.
Often
the place God calls us is not paved in sidewalks. We get exposed to the
elements of our weaknesses and insecurities and have to confront the wilderness
of our lives. Maybe God doesn’t care about sidewalks and umbrellas. Maybe he
does. If he cared enough about them, however, he would have created them,
right?
