Blogging with Father John

Out of the Darkness of Chaos and Into the Light of Life

In the beginning there was nothing but darkness and chaos that made up time and space. But God reached out into the blackness and disorder and created structure and order. God created all that we know in this world as well as the vast mystery of the universe. With his word, or a stroke of his divine hand chaos was transformed from meaningless matter into meaningful existence. No longer did chaos exist in God’s holy creation, but order, structure, meaning, purpose and life.

As human beings we are an important part of God’s creation. Therefore, whether we realize it or not, having been created in the image of God, we to crave order and structure in our lives. Yet we live in a world and society that is full of chaos and uncertainty. The time and age we currently live is filled with fear, doubt, anxiety and uncertainty. This has the overwhelming potential to create sheer chaos in our daily lives. Just as disturbing chaos exists in many of our homes, relationships and work places. No wonder we are a society that  is full of addictive and unhealthy behaviors. Without some form of spiritual grounding, this world threatens our peace and serenity, causing all forms of chaotic and sick behavior. Rather than live our life with thoughtful responses, we live lives of impulsive reactions. Chaos leads to fear, and fear leads to unpredictable and selfish coping methods.

Living a life in total chaos is a terrible way to exist. When we can find no order in our lives, our tendency is to self impose order that is usually unhealthy and self-destructive. We all need a purpose in life. We all seek personal meaning and fulfillment as well. We all seek structure and order. Yet when another person, or perhaps some other outside source imposes chaos into our lives we lose our sense of being and question our sanity. This is an ugly, dark and dim place to abide. For out of imposed chaos we begin to question ourselves and lose our sense of being and identity. All forms of spiritual disease such as anger, resentment and self-loathing arise out of that dark, chaotic nothingness that infects our lives with an overwhelming feeling of dread and insecurity. We feel abandoned, isolated and even worthless. When there is no light of hope, chaos casts us further down the scale into the bowels of despair. It is in this pitch black and utterly dark place that our lives unravel, and become unmanageable. There is a nasty toxicity that prevails. Human beings don’t function well, if at all when living in an environment filled with chaos. 

Looking to God and trusting him is the key to our release from the darkness and reckless abysmal pit of churning chaos. The Psalmist writes, “(God) You are a lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119: 105. A spiritual life is key in escaping a life of unhealthy and chaotic behavior. Breaking away and allowing God’s holy light into our lives restores sanity, hope and structure. Jesus goes on to say in the Gospel of Matthew, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”  These are powerful and hopeful words. We have a choice! We don’t have to exist in a life full of untamed darkness and chaotic behavior. The light of Christ is so bright that no darkness can withstand its brilliance. It is here, in a renewed spiritual life that we find order, which brings us peace of heart, mind and soul. Yet we have to truly desire that light and invite it into our hearts, prayers and daily life. 

God will reach out to us and transform our lives from complete chaos to an ordered and healthy existence. As our relationship with him grows we will begin to see chaos’ true nature, and wince it came. We will recoil from it like a hot flame as well as the people, places or things that brought chaos into our lives in the first place.

The love of God is endless and that love is not random or chaotic. It is real, ordered and tangible. There is hope in the chaos of our lives and God will restore us to a life of health, structure, boundaries and goodness. We simply have to ask God to pull us out of the dark and all consuming chaos and restore us to him. In I Peter 2: 9, the writer of the Epistle says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness (Chaos) into his wonderful light.”

The love of God is immeasurable and his willingness to care for us in all situations is unquestionable. So invite and allow God’s holy grace to penetrate the dark chaos of our lives, and liberate us from a life of total despair and self-destruction. It is then that we will find a purpose and meaning in our lives that far exceeds any expectation we may have ever had.