I have been blessed because I have been able to travel a lot. I have visited many countries in many continents, and I truly believe this is good. You can learn so much from visiting other places where people do things differently because you might learn things that might benefit you. My life has been enriched because of these travels. Different places leave you different things. When it comes to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, one word comes to mind: ORDER!
Nowhere like Switzerland to see this. The streets, the buildings, the parks are an amazing example of order! Even the lines for trains or buses are perfect! I remember one day when Maria and I were going out, going to the hotel desk to ask what time the next train to the city center was. I clearly remember the person telling Maria and I it was in seven minutes. I was surprised to see how certain and how exact he was. Upon making a comment, he looked at us intrigued, and he told me “How else could it be?”
It turns out that Germanic countries have a concept called Ordnung. This is a concept that means “order discipline, rule, arrangement, organization, or system.” It’s the set of rules by which the people of a community agree to live by. Interestingly enough, it was adapted by Christian groups such as the Amish to define a code of conduct for the members of their communities. I bring this up because Paul speaks a lot about order in the church in the 3rd chapter of 1st Timothy. He mentions this twice by using the word “manage” when it comes to deacons and elders. He also sets certain requirements for everyone involved in the church family.
Order is very important, so important that one of the first things God did after He created the earth was to put order in the creation. Genesis 1: 2 says that the earth was “formless and void.” This expression in Hebrew is known as the “tohu vavohu”, and thousands of pages have been written by rabbis throughout history trying to describe it. The closest meaning the rabbis have come up with is “chaos”. Therefore, what God did was to bring chaos to order.
It is easy to understand then, why Paul instructs Timothy to have order in the church. Just like God brough order to creation, there should be order in every family and in the family of God, the church. This should bring us to reflect upon our families. Are we leading them the way we should? Are our families in order or in chaos? As mothers and fathers, we have a responsibility that God has given us just as God gave Timothy the responsibility as a pastor.
Our God is a God of order. May our church, our families and our lives be of order as well.
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