Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.
A neglected lawn is soon overtaken by weeds.
A seasonally closed cabin opens to dust and mildew in the spring.
A pantry unattended soon houses decaying foods.
A child ignored soon becomes a Super-Target embarrassment.
A desk unmanaged is soon a pile of clutter.
Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.
The kids call it “the attic”, but in reality, it is a 3-foot-tall crawl space under the sunroom accessed only on your belly and requires wiggling your way through what used to be a basement window opening. Crudely constructed and definitely not on the “must see” list of house tours, this “secret” place has become a favorite playroom for my grandkids. So just before Christmas, I wiggled through the former window, flopped over on my back, and installed three strands of Christmas lights under the floor joists. But that was only the beginning.
Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos. The “attic” is Exhibit A validating this truth. Over time, the number of items placed into our crawl space has steadily increased. “Let’s not throw it away or give it away just yet. We may find out later that we actually need that. Let’s just put it under the house.” So the storage bins accumulate. And then we did the mother-in-law addition, which meant electricians and plumbers with drills and bits and woodchips and shoving bins from this side over to that side and then back again. Disorder! Chaos!
As we return this Sunday to our studies in Titus, we find that Paul and Titus have passed through the numerous communities of the Isle of Crete. Three decades earlier, residents from this Island heard the gospel proclaimed on the day of Pentecost. It appears that some, perhaps many, heard, believed and embraced the message of the saving grace of God through faith alone in His very own Son, Jesus the Christ. And they did not keep this incredible discovery to themselves, but spread the good news around when they returned home. In the power of the Spirit, others heard, believed and embraced the gospel. Thirty years later, those who had believed had formed into fellowship communities, local churches. However, true to the principle that “things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos”, Paul found matters in serious need of attention. “Set in order what remains…”, Paul’s instructions to Titus.
Not only did I flop on my back to install a “custom lighting” system for greater play-time enjoyment, I also opened, consolidated, rearranged, stacked and put back into order what had, because it had been unattended, become Exhibit A of chaos.
Now before you are too hard on me for my lack of neatness, don’t you have to admit that when you went to the dresser to place that newly received gift sweater into the drawer, that what you discovered upon opening the drawer was a bit less than “orderly”? When you went to the garage to grab that tool for assembling that special toy, were you not a bit dismayed by the chaos you discovered? Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.
Leaving Titus to address the issues, Paul instructs him, “Set in order what remains.”
See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom
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