God began His world with a parting of the waters above and the waters below. Let there be light, He said, separating the light from the dark. Holding back the elements of turbulent chaos, with His great hands. Pulling forth life from dust. Bracing in place the puzzle of existence, piece by piece, with His omnipotent grasp. Even more than that, God fits each action thought and deed into a beautiful tapestry of right and wrong, separating and weaving the boundaries of His decrees and the chaotic desires that swell inside. He holds them back, discerning.
But sometimes if the greater Maker is questioned, unbalanced, unheeded, unwanted, God may let His hand ungrip. Allowing the waters to crash back into themselves. Drowning the life blood of those who are already spinning in the orderless. He may let the trickle of unnamed and unbounded break the floodgates, mixing back into each other.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1,6)
In a bite of forbidden fruit the Creator knew that self-knowledge flooded the reality of existence. Good and evil, angst with God, hiding and terror, sin and separation. At the disobedience to His word, the boundaries were loosed. Creatures now thought of themselves as gods, good gifts blended into evils, clean rigid lines became blurry and grey.
Today our world seeks freedom by disobedience to God. The rules and laws of creation have become too much to bear. But when God removes His hand, the chaos ensues. The disarray is not life. When God lets go, it is certain death.
Sodom and Gomorrah, releasing His diving protection, letting the stars fall and fire burn. Unholy riders through the Red Sea, undoing the walls of oceans He built in honor of salvation. Generations of a sinful earth, disappointed, grieving, destroyed. He let go of the waters, He let go of the heavens, He let go of the order that was held in His hands. And it flooded and smoldered the groaning creation. They die, and they were free. He released them, from Himself.
And this is His judgment. Letting go. Releasing His pressure. Moving His fingertips, so the self-made gods can do what they want. Unrestraining the boundaries, so that they no longer are gathered, according to His truth. Ironically to their disillusioned liberation, they have no choice than to blend into their own disarray. When He hides His hand.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Cindy Koch Writes to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.