Order Vs. Chaos

Posted by Jonathan Brink
September 26, 2008

In the movie Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader says to his son Luke, “Join me and we can bring order to the galaxy.”  There have been moments in my life when I have begged God to step and bring order to the universe.  And for some reason He just doesn’t.  He allows the chaos.

When I heard that line it struck me for some reason.  There is something about order that seems to feel right, at least in principle. Order implies the world is working right, that things are aligning and people aren’t hurting each other.  Order implies justice and control over people.  Order feels good because it means you likely won’t hurt me.  It means I can go to the store and not have to worry about getting shot or robbed.  It implies peace to a certain extent.

Yet for some reason God doesn’t choose to establish a controlled order in the universe.  He allows chaos.  He doesn’t take control over everything.  He allows people like Robert Mugabe, Kim Jong-il, and Omar al-Bashir. He allows pain and suffering to occur.

And it is in the face of these people, what could be considered the worst of mankind that we’re left with the same question Darth Vader presents to Luke.  “Join me and we can bring order to this planet.”  Taking these men down seems right.  But in doing so, we’re left with the question of which side we’re joining.  Is control and order really the answer?  Is force really the most restorative pathway?

Because once I join the effort to control, I then approve of its measure.  If I approve of the killing of these people, to remove what seems like the chaos of the universe, I approve of the removal of me the moment I create chaos.  And that line of order becomes entirely subjective on any side.  It can be moved at any time based upon whim and circumstance, or as the men above choose. And what eventually occurs is a culture based in fear, not freedom.  The order that was supposed to happen occurs, if only for a select group of people.  As long as we’re on the good side, we’re safe.  But step over the line and we’re at risk.

And then there is love.  I keep thinking of the moments Jesus is standing in front of Herod and dying on the cross.  He could have assumed control and brought order to the world.  But to do so would be to go against love.  Instead he established a world based in chaos that allows people to harm each other.  But more importantly, he provides the ability to transcend that chaos through love by the power of His Spirit.  It’s a culture based in the exact opposite, in freedom not in fear.

The sad thing is, it’s just easier to live in control than it is in love.  It’s just easier to establish a law that keeps you from stealing from me than it is to practice and teach love, which accomplishes the same measure by choice.  Love is the narrow path.  It requires taking one, or two, or a hundred on the cheek.  But when we do, when we choose love and live in the chaos, we become love.

And that’s what I want to be.

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  • good article, but just one minor issue. Han Solo is not the son of Vader. Skywalker is. But, you knew that.
  • Tim
    Han Solo is Vader's son?
    Really?

    Good post, Jonathan
  • The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Namely me. ;-P

    See, nothing but chaos. I was thinking Luke but wrote Han. LOL.
  • That's okay. We love you anyway. :)

    As long as churches see the Gospel as "believe in Jesus and go to heaven when you die", there will be a need for control in order to keep the church members from straying.

    If we see the Gospel as "God wants to make your life wonderful and give you the American Dream", there will still need to be some system of control to avoid any cracks in the facade.

    If the Gospel is about what God has done for us because of his love for us, then the only control needed is that of love. When we are ocntrolled by love, we can continue to trust and follow in the midst of the chaos.
  • ella
    Maybe when the Holy Spirit hovered over the water and brought Order out of Chaos, there was only a certain amount of Order and a certain amount of Chaos remained so that Man could finish the job? If everything was Order the world would surely be a sterile dead place. God perhaps wanted there to be some element of Chaos left so that Man could finish the job of "subduing" the earth.
    I have often thought that the Garden of Eden, for instance, was a place of perfect order - a sanctuary if you like, but that the world outside that was more dangerous, more chaotic.
    Love is the only thing that seems to me to be capable of subduing the chaos. The love of God and love for one another that is the will of God and that the Spirit writes in the hearts of Man.
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