God of order

                       Many people in this world have questions about life, about the reasons of it and about God. We will never be able anyway to explain everything or to find the exact answers we are looking for, but I believe we will find enough. Enough for us to make a decision, to trake a stand. Before finding some answers we mustn't rush with taking a decision or having a conclusion, especially the wrong one. We find as well that certain things are unexplainable. And we will find answers only when we stand in front of Him who holds all the secrets since the foundation of everything. (I believe as well that He wants us to know enough for us to be able to take a stand and He knows how much is that.)

                      Many people have questions about God, why is He doing things in a certain way. Some of them create their own image about Him and believe they know most of Him already. No one actually knows so much about Him. Some people know just enough, but there is always more to discover. Thinking that we know or we are having a thought or idea of who God is, without having Him really in our life, can lead us to dangerous prejudices. 

                     What we are going to see now is just a small part of the great and inscrutable knowledge of God. Let's see a verse in the first letter to the Corinthians 14:38

"For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints."

And 1 Corinthians 14:40 says "Let all things be done decently and in order." Apparently in this verse and in the context speaks about having an order in the churches about prophesying and speaking in tongues. And so it is. But the verse itself reveals the character of God and His nature. And there are other verses in the Bible speaking about the same topic. So here we can see how He is. 

If we look at the creation, at the nature until the smallest to the greatest detail we will notice that nothing is there by chance, or just placed chaotically there. The nature (the one undefiled and untouched by man) is having a certain order. Obviously this nature bears consequences of sin, but we can still see that things work in a specific way there. 

               Looking at the universe as well, we see that stars, planets, a solar system are placed perfectly in a specific way. It has nothing to do with an explosion or just throwing all the things there in a chaos. Somebody with a mind having a design stands behind it. Even if we go to the smallest details microscopically speaking, we will see molecules, atoms and all other small particles placed in order (that is also very similar to how a solar system works - it explains that the same mind stands behind it.) 

Each molecule is composed by atoms that hold each other. The first two images above show us a structure of an atom and the second ones are from our solar system. There are different kinds of atoms, but almost all of them are composed of neutrons and protons that form the nucleus and electrons that circle around it in a very similar way as planets do around the sun. And if I am not mistaken, there are cases where each electron is having its own and unique orbit same as the planets. So what we see is a kind of a mini model of what a solar system is. I am not saying that the atoms are small solar systems, but just that by the way they are made, we see God's genius design and creation, we see that the same mind has created all of them - the atoms and the solar systems, from the smallest to the greatest detail. 

It happens the same when we see the chemical elements. They also have an order. If I am not mistaken most of the chemical reactions, poisons and corrosive materials that damage everything are there because a man put his hand there and placed them out of their natural place and order. But all of this and other wrong things are caused by another greater disorder called sin. Looking at all of the creation, those who are really gone in disorder are ourselves. The human kind. 

And obviously this sin, this disorder brings consequences to everything else. "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."   Romans 8:20,21

God in His nature is the one who wants to fix this. He wants to fix everything. Sometimes we can't imagine what He is able to bear until He accomplishes this. Many times we can't ralise it and we see it just from our perspective, not being grateful enough. And I don't know if we will ever be in this life. I mean to be ever grateful enough, or be able to know, to understand all the reasons for being really grateful. Thanks to God for the reasons that He already made us to know. There is so much to be grateful for. I'm saying this because God in order to fix what is wrong can just take it away from the picture and rebuild another one. But what He did instead was in our favour. 

"I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."   Numbers 14:12   He said this to Moses, but after his pleading for mercy, He left them and gave them another opportunity and this is what He wants to do with us now — to give us a chance.

Look, there is a balance in the nature, in the universe and in the whole creation. The balance there just confirms about the character of their Creator. If I paint a picture and I use a certain method, or colour, it will reveal my personality. It is because I like it, or I have that personality. Same is with God. The difference is that He is not a man like us. He doesn't change His opinion. He is not influenced by anything. He doesn't have a "bad day" as we do sometimes. He doesn't wake up and decides something, and the next day wakes up again and changes opinion. He is immutable, He doesn't change. As the Bible says in James 1:17 "Every good gift is from above, and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." So His opinion toward sin is always the same. That's why here we see that He didn't change His personality from the old to the new testament as someone might state. As Jesus said: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil."   Matthew 5:17   What did change then? 

He is for balance and for order. And if something goes out of that balance He wants to fix it. This is His heart. As when someone brakes something, he must pay it. In this case we broke. Not just something, but many things. In order to bring a balance He had to let us pay. He is the judge of the entire universe as Job 22:12,13 and 25:4,5 say: "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the stars how lofty they are? And you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness?"  Job 22:12,13

"How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,"  Job 25:4,5

We need to look at something here. He does all of this not just because He decided. He doesn't decide it. It is hard to imagine, but it is so. He is the greatest being, He doesn't have a measure, nor age. He takes everything, He is infinite. "For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' "  Acts 17:28  And yet He is not as we imagine many times. When somebody just decided something, this many times is based on His likes and preferences. When for example I decide not to eat something, most of the times it is because I don't like it. Yes in another case If I am starving I can make a compromise and have it (eat it). But it is not like this, when is about someone's nature or being. When something is so awful to us, not because we just decided so, but naturally by instinct we can't handle it. Then there is no question, we can't stand it. It is a reaction that takes a place. In the same way justice is part of God's nature. If we go through a place with a rotten smell, we will automatically turn our head away, we will try to avoid it or remove it. We can stand it for a while, but we will eventually remove it. This is how God looks at sin. He is so just, so righteous in His nature that He has to fix it. Takes the time that will take, He will fix it. The reason why He doesn't bring this perfect justice now on the earth is because He decided to aacomplish it through His Son. That's why He is having patience with us and everybody. Because He wants people to repent. If He would have brought a perfect justice now, no one would escape, but because He is patient, He gives us opportunity. That's why the Bible tells us not to judge, not to revenge, to turn the other cheek. Because according to His standarts we are not better, everyone deserves judgement. And we can not say that God is righteous and just, because of a mere choice He made. He is not a man like us. That's why it is not because of a decision that He took. It is in His nature. He is like that. He is justice. No one can stand against Him or discuss with Him about that. We can rather say that to show mercy, to send His Son for us, so that we can have this opportunity was a choice He made. Without taking His righteousness away, because at the end justice was served on the cross. His Son took the punishment. And if we believe, we enter into this promise. So here we see again the love of God, because the justice is in His nature and it is not performed by Him by choice, but instead the opportunity He is giving us to save us, comes from His own choice, because He loves us.

       All of this should take away the thought in us that God sometimes is cruel and prevent us from thinking or imagine Him as a mere man that takes decisions based on what He likes or not. He is like a being, He is everything we see, we feel, we move in and nothing and no one can escape Him. He might be far from us in terms of His holiness, but in the same time He is closer than what we can immagine, because He is everything around us. And He can not stand at all of this, He wants and He must fix this sin. He doesn't have anyone to answer to, to submit to, but in a way He submits to Himself, to His laws! He is conditioned by that, because He can not deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

Thinking about this it comes to my mind about the laws that certain ancient kings were having. They were irrevocable. Meaning that once that the law was given, it couldn't be just changed. Even the kings were submited to the laws that themselves had established. They had to follow them. Same as God. His laws, established by Himself are irrevocable. They are eternal. Jesus said that heavens and earth will pass away, but His words will remain for eternity. And these laws are established by God, because of His nature, because of what He is. 

So going back to the conversation, someone had to pay, to fulfil this empty space or cross in our case. All of this to bring back the balance. That's why the Son of God came. To die for us, for those who beleive, so that we mustn't pay. God had a mercy. Someone still had to pay, to die, because this is what needed to happen to fulfil this. He couldn't just forget about the sin we commited, even if He wanted to. Anyway He tried to do something about it. The best He could. And He compromised Himself. And decided to suffer that punishment. It is an amazing love! Because He also could've just let us pay and everything was going to be fine with Him. He didn't have anyone to answer to. And this was going to be still right. What He did was still righteous, but with the only difference that He paid. Sometimes we just don't realise the grace we have, the opportunity and it will be difficult to realise all of it in this life. Even if we are safe and reborn. Then we will just have a small part of the whole picture. That is obviously good enough and can make us grateful. Sometimes we even dare to rebel or murmur in our hearts. That God may forgive us and reveal us more of His grace, of what He has done for us. And I'm saying this to the believers as well. 

     We need to know that what He did was purely for love, because even if He wiped us away was still going to be right, it was going to be something just. But He didn't. It is here where His compassion came, wanting to give us still opportunity. He could've wiped everything, but instead He sent His son. He took the punishment that was needed to be given. It is like a reaction, almost a natural reaction. Everything works in this way. The only thing is that because of His SON, God doesn't react with us according to what we deserve. Because He reacted in that way towards the Son on the cross. 

    For some of us because we have already accepted and believe in His son, and to others, because He has given them a time to repent. And all of this because of His Son. Do you remember the parable of the barren fig tree? Well, this parable is for us. We've been given an opportunity, a time to accept Him. That's why the Son is so important, that's why the believers are called Christians and the Bible is so focused on Him. Because if we are even alive today is because of Him. And we can see the reason for the Trinity here which gives an importance and exalts all three of them. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because they are one. And we see the "natural" reaction of God toward everything. Remember that He is not only extremely great (even giving Him this attribute, it would be little), but Heis everything. There is not even a small place for discussion egarding His authority.

"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' "   

Acts 17:24-28