For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
1 Corinthians 14:33
In the verse above, Paul is reminding the Corinthians to avoid disorder during church services, but God is a God of peace, all the time.
It is very hard, however, to remember that when Monday becomes... well, Monday. At our home here on the UCU campus in Mukono, Mondays are days when both the housekeeper and the gardener are here. The consequence is lots of activity – projects, directions, confirmations, conversations – but not necessarily a lot of tangible “output,” something by which we previously measured our days. Yes, the laundry is done, but keep an eye on the weather, because rain means it all must be moved to the lines under the patio roof and over the dining table. One of the not-quite-three-year-old twins will come to the door to ask for Trooper, while her sister, hanging back, sings a story. A workman needs me to interpret an absent neighbor’s instructions concerning the remodel of her unit. A neighbor calls to ask me to deliver a message to her husband, who is not “picking” the phone when she calls. What was my goal for the day? I have been interrupted so many times I am not sure I had one, much less can I recall it.
After years of the relative quiet of a leafy neighborhood, and communications by text or email (does anyone remember the nagging ring of a telephone?), our days and evenings are now marked by the sounds of children – playing, arguing, being disciplined – 'soundtrucks' advertising anything from produce to cell phone service to the local bar, and the rumble of trucks and bodas laboring up Ankrah Rd just outside the fence. Near neighbors stop at the gate to pass on news, make requests, or simply wish us a pleasant day or a good evening. Most nights we are serenaded by music from one of the Pentecostal churches nearby.
Yet, as Paul says, God is a God of peace. In the midst of all the noise and activity He calls us to participate in that peace, not by an orderly march through a to-do list, but by starting our day with him, and by being present to those he has placed in our lives.
In the Ugandan Church there is a call-and-response prayer that is the most common benediction and attention-directing command:
Call: God is good
Response: All the time.
Call: All the time.
Response: God is good, because that’s his nature.
In the time we spend with God that is a moment of refuge from the disorder of our daily lives come these simple words of affirmation. Of truth. Of peace. Our lives may seem to be a series of unreached goals and unmet needs... but look up. The God of peace is with you and wants to bless you with His peace.
God bless you!
Catherine
