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Like a child
by Adam Bennett GK Chesterton wrote , "A child of seven is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door." I've observed that an infant loves nothing more than for mummy or daddy to lie on the floor so they can play on top of them. Or to crawl after the dog to pull its tail, or to be lathered in dog slobber when the pup chases them instead. At eighteen months a child enjoys wrapping paper more than a present inside and a three-year old still believes a drive to the supermarket for bread and milk is an adventure. But, at age six or seven, there are signs the joy of life can be swallowed by the sorrow of what you want but don't have. There are tears because, despite having chocolate cake, they think their sibling has a larger piece. This decay of simple happiness grows into adulthood so that life becomes a pursuit of more things, more money, a bigger house or a more prestigious title. James diagnosed this condition by saying, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. " (James 4:1-3 NIV) I'm sure this is part of why Jesus said, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. " (Matthew 18:3 NIV) The joy God created us to experience is not derived from anything the adult world can offer us but is best discovered and enjoyed by infants. The Psalmist wrote, "I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." (Psalm 131:2) Copyright Adam Bennett 2009. More articles are available at http://godward-thoughts.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |