2.6 The Economy of God.

Picture this. A wave on a beach in Lion’s Head. If I pause for a moment and reflect on all that is, all that exists around me, I have this great sense of awe, this sense of mystery. This seems like a marvellous thing, but there is gnawing displeasure and despair about an unsolved mystery. (This is despite the fact that from the perspective of the scriptures, a mystery is something unveiled or revealed.) In either case, to turn a phrase of Al Stewart’s, I feel like a wave on the beach sinking in the sand. Gone in a slow sinking, fleeting moment. 

The therapy for this sinking despair is the Economy of God. This might otherwise be known as the household management of God. It essentially refers to the rule or plan of God, again, noting the idea of oikonomia.  Our management of daily things, our praxis, exists within the plan of God, the Economy of God.

The Apostle Paul in his charge to Timothy draws attention to the oikonomia of God (1 Tim 1:4).  Paul is sharing with Timothy this sacred charge with a sense of urgency. This charge or instruction is a theme that persists throughout their letters. Noting that the “goal of this instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.”

The idea of the economy of God does alleviate the despair of a wave sinking into the sand of nowhere-ness. I understand the idea of the household and family of God, but I am unresolved by the word God or Theos. That title seems to be more of a mystery than a revelation. 49 Days Out of the Wilderness is an attempt to resolve that.