Jesus scolded His disciples when they wanted to keep children from Him. He instructed them to do the opposite; they were to extend themselves to make sure children got to Him. In one of his songs, King David wrote that "from the lips of children and infants God has ordained praise." I felt the joy and power of that reality this last weekend as I watched the children of our church family present a cute and fun but poignant holiday musical.
To often in my professional and volunteer work in the community I see what happens to children who are deprived of play and praise and forced to survive. Under developed life skills become the permanent skills for life. Joy is replaced by a seriousness. And winsomeness is lost in clouds of fear, anger, depression, addictions, and desperate selfishness.
So I have a thought about children; they were created for play and praise. In play they explore their imaginations, develop their physical skills, pursue the arts, and create a mind capable of story and connecting thoughts. In praise they are able to bring all of these things into focus as they fulfill the ultimate goal of humanity. The Westminster Catechism asks the question "What is the chief end of man (humanity)?" The answer is "To know God and to enjoy Him forever." When children are given the chance to express and experience the chief end of humanity having been nurtured in an atmosphere of loving play they explode with potential.
When these things are taken away the person they could be begins to wither under responsibilities and copings they are not wired for nor are they truly capable of handling. Abuse, no fault divorce, abandonment, parentless homes, early onset competition, and the like have forced our children to grow up at unusual and unhealthy rates. And like bones that grow too fast, their personalities end up lacking the strength to support the demands placed on them. We then send these over experienced but under developed people into the world and wonder why they have trouble functioning as adults.
Just how drastically would our society change if we nurtured and protected play and praise in the lives of our children? "Suffer the children to come unto me" - Jesus of Nazareth.
Just thinking out loud . . .
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Even more of a frustration is that these under-devloped children become parents and perpetuate this same unhealthy lifestyle. To often we don't recognize or understand these faults in ourselves and pass them on to our children. Some do recognize the issues and try to change, but how to teach that which we never learned.
ReplyDeleteIn many respects, just by asking Jesus into our lives we are changed. Other changes however, come through our desire to be like Him and are not instantaneous. They are only wrought thru hard work and time. I know there are those who desperately wish their child(ren) to be different than them, to grow up differently than them, to have a childhood different than them, yet in some things there will always be similarities. We can only pray that Jesus shows the way, and somehow grace leads our child(ren) beyond our teachings and our failures. How wonderful, if we as a nation could strive towards these changes. That's a snowball effect I would love to see.
I love your comments! As I read your thoughts and got to your last line I had a picture of the Holy Spirit rolling a snowball up toward virtue like the snowballs of decay roll downhill toward disaster. What if the Holy Spirit could create a fast rolling snowball that collected things on the way up the way snowballs collect them on the way down.
ReplyDeleteAs an earthly dad, with a long-broken family, it breaks my heart to watch what powers of darkness do to children, parents, and families; not to mention also brotherhood, work, government, churches every other created thing.
ReplyDeleteI believe God has shown me for a long time now that I have weapons to "fight back" with and a "peacefully urgent cause", and most importantly "I am NOT ALONE IN THE BATTLE" . . . even "it is a wonderful thing to be alone with God".
I believe He has shown me there is a good place for "my vitality" and "my intentions" . . . it is in praises to God, and travailing prayer, sincere vigilance toward God's intent, and kind attitudes and helpful productivity. These are doable things and good to do.
God has shown me that as I do the part that He makes me able to do, He does the amazing things that are beyond me. I don't have to simply "be a failure", nor "lay there and take it".
Among the best words I've ever heard from my children is when they came back to me after many years, thanking me for leading them to the Lord at young ages. And despite much confoundment, loss, and waste, they are making it through school, they care about laws and authorities, are usually not messing up the future by indulging in lusts, are not on drugs, and are becoming kind and helpful people. "I see God's hand" and "I see the love of God" in this.
I thank 1AoG, (aka "Parkway"), Dennis, Jeannette, Dan Lute, Dave Albanese, and MANY OTHERS for the part they did in helping this happen.
Jesus IS THE LORD!
I just noticed that the first time you posted this blog, just happens to be the anniversary of the marriage that brought children into my life; the one I've never given up on; it's a little thing; but I think God said "I do too".
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your consistent upholding and defending of Christian marriage in this community. There are many forces even within Christian religion who would twist "marriage" and "family" in many ways.