"God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God."

“Again, I looked at everything that goes on under the sun and realized that in place of justice, wickedness prevails.   In place of righteousness, wrongdoing succeeds.”   (Ecclesiastes 3:16)

“Then I looked again and saw all the oppression that happens under the sun.  I saw the tears of the oppressed, and, and no one offered to help and comfort them.   The oppressors exercise all the power, while the powerless have no one to help and comfort them.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1)

Solomon was speaking of the natural order of the world that has existed since Adam and Eve at the apple in the garden.     Entropy is the name for this concept that nature tends to move from order to disorder without intervention.   It takes energy (work) to intervene and bring order.  Left without any intervention (work), things will move toward chaos.

In Genesis 3:17-19 the Lord said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

            Cursed is the ground because of you;
            In toil you will eat of it
            All the days of your life.

          “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
            And you will eat the plants of the field;

            By the sweat of your face
            You will eat bread,
            Till you return to the ground,
            Because from it you were taken;
            For you are dust,
            And to dust you shall return.”

Without care and tending, things move more toward a state of chaos because of the brokenness of the fall where sin entered the world.   Chaos is a state of complete confusion, disorder, and lack of organization.  It comes from the Greek word khaos, which meant a gaping void or chasm [1]

It was out of void, that the order of the world was formed and created by God.  Over and over in Scripture, God brings kingdom order to chaos.  1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace…”  The word disorder here is the Greek word akatastas.  It means an unsettled, unstable and confused state. [2]

According to several authors on brain development in children, if they are not given care and attention when they are born and developing, a child's brain does not develop in some ways.  As a result, they may struggle with being more unsettled, unstable, confused inside, and less able to regulate their emotions as they grow.  This often becomes reflected outside in their actions.   It is a natural process of entropy. 

 Parents, guardians, caregivers come in and by their work, interject order and stability. They care for their children’s needs.  They tend to the child when they are hurt.  And they teach, direct and discipline the child so that they gain an ability to self-regulate their emotions.  Children begin to learn to make wise choices.  They learn, like their parents, to bring order to the environment around them.   

We are made in the likeness of God (Gen 1:27).   It is in His likeness to tend to the people and things around us.  In the image of God, we bring peace and order to disorder.   Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  

Chaos, confusion, and disorder are sin and the result of the fall.  2 Corinthians 12:20 says, “For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.” 

The world around us is moving towards more chaos, disorder, and confusion.  This is a natural process of entropy and a result from sin entering the world.   When we look around us, we will see the world moving more and more in this direction.  The world/culture is drifting [3].  

However, we as the church are called not to drift along with the world into greater sin and darkness, but to be the peacemakers. We bring the kingdom wherever we go.   We can interject order and peace into chaos.   Just as parents step up to care for their children’s needs, comfort them when they hurt, provide loving wisdom and guidance, and establish a role model, we are called to this also in the world around us.    The response to the culture drifting towards darkness needs to be engagement. [4]

We care for the needs of others, comfort them when they are hurting, be available with a word of wisdom on occasion and establish a genuine model that others can look up to and follow.     As we do this, the environment around us changes.  Peace is more and more established.

Seeing wickedness prevailing in the world around us is not a call to lose hope and give up.  It is a call to lovingly engage and follow in the footsteps of Jesus in bringing a different kind of kingdom.   As we step forward to lovingly engage the world, we are not alone, the Lord is with us and empowers us. 

Father, let your kingdom come and your will be done in the world around us as it is in heaven.   Help us not to lose heart but to arise, engage, and build your kingdom wherever our feet may find us.  Empower us to be lights in the darkness. 

“Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.   For darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples but the Lord will arise upon you and his glory will appear over you.  Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isaiah 60:1-3)

1.      The Oxford Dictionary.  Located at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/chaos.  Last Accessed 8/16/16. 

2.     Strong’s Greek #181.  Located at: http://biblehub.com/greek/181.htm.  Last Accessed 8/16/16

3-4.          Wilfredo De Jesus.  Stay the Course.  Global Leadership Summit.