"Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little..." Isaiah 28:9, 10
All those who knew better to lead Israel have all fallen away (vs. 7). Who now will God choose to be the keepers of His wisdom and truth? The children will, and they will be correctly taught, being instructed in in the basics step by step, precept upon precept, line upon line. The elders have failed. The only ones left that have the child-like faith necessary to trust God are the children themselves. Children will lead the nation to God.
Chesterton (in Orthodoxy) said that God is "eternal infancy," i.e., devoid of vice, full of endless life and vitality, limitless in energy, and seeing and filling the world with awe and wonder. We, however, have sinned and grown old: vice is our drinking partner, we are dead in transgressions and sins, we are tired and bored with all things, and have scrupulously sucked all the numinous wonder and awe out of everything. We have lost our childhood, and God came to give it back.
"Except...[ye] become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) Let us not err as Nicodemus did and marvel that we must be "born again." Jesus said becoming a child meant to be "converted," and conversion means a change from one thing into another: we are changed from dying old age to eternal youth. God puts His eternal infancy into us, and suddenly all things have become new. There is an underlying wellspring of joy that brings life and vitality to our once ancient souls, and the world is suddenly a wonder-filled, awe-inspiring place full of demons and dragons, angels and magic, snares and traps, falls and rescues. The life within us reveals the life around us. When we were dead, all else seemed dead as well. Only the eyes of a child can see a fairy behind every leaf, and a troll under every bridge.
This is the great source of power in us: the eternal childhood of the life of God. How often we miss it! This fallen world continues to seek to age us, and we let it! We forget to dance with our Father God in fields of eternal youth and wonder; we turn our faith into a religion: keeping creeds and rules, doing work and service to gain favor, fulfilling our obligations out of duty. Consequently, we tire out, because we are becoming old again, and the life of God is told to sit in the corner and be quiet.
"...and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6b) The kingdom of God belongs to the children; no grown-ups allowed. The gates of heaven are barred against those who are sick with age and full of their own conceits. Such antiquity would fade as chaff before the fire in the presence of all-consuming youth. The elders have fallen; the children lead now. They are the banner carriers of the redeemed of Zion.
It is the child that can live by faith, the child that can simply trust and obey. The Christian faith is the faith of a child. It is the restoration of the one thing we truly miss as we age: our childhood. May God keep us as children in this old world.
"The simplicity and peace and joy
Of Childhood
You restore to Me.
You make all things New,
All things Reborn in You..."
-Jon Vowell
All those who knew better to lead Israel have all fallen away (vs. 7). Who now will God choose to be the keepers of His wisdom and truth? The children will, and they will be correctly taught, being instructed in in the basics step by step, precept upon precept, line upon line. The elders have failed. The only ones left that have the child-like faith necessary to trust God are the children themselves. Children will lead the nation to God.
Chesterton (in Orthodoxy) said that God is "eternal infancy," i.e., devoid of vice, full of endless life and vitality, limitless in energy, and seeing and filling the world with awe and wonder. We, however, have sinned and grown old: vice is our drinking partner, we are dead in transgressions and sins, we are tired and bored with all things, and have scrupulously sucked all the numinous wonder and awe out of everything. We have lost our childhood, and God came to give it back.
"Except...[ye] become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) Let us not err as Nicodemus did and marvel that we must be "born again." Jesus said becoming a child meant to be "converted," and conversion means a change from one thing into another: we are changed from dying old age to eternal youth. God puts His eternal infancy into us, and suddenly all things have become new. There is an underlying wellspring of joy that brings life and vitality to our once ancient souls, and the world is suddenly a wonder-filled, awe-inspiring place full of demons and dragons, angels and magic, snares and traps, falls and rescues. The life within us reveals the life around us. When we were dead, all else seemed dead as well. Only the eyes of a child can see a fairy behind every leaf, and a troll under every bridge.
This is the great source of power in us: the eternal childhood of the life of God. How often we miss it! This fallen world continues to seek to age us, and we let it! We forget to dance with our Father God in fields of eternal youth and wonder; we turn our faith into a religion: keeping creeds and rules, doing work and service to gain favor, fulfilling our obligations out of duty. Consequently, we tire out, because we are becoming old again, and the life of God is told to sit in the corner and be quiet.
"...and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6b) The kingdom of God belongs to the children; no grown-ups allowed. The gates of heaven are barred against those who are sick with age and full of their own conceits. Such antiquity would fade as chaff before the fire in the presence of all-consuming youth. The elders have fallen; the children lead now. They are the banner carriers of the redeemed of Zion.
It is the child that can live by faith, the child that can simply trust and obey. The Christian faith is the faith of a child. It is the restoration of the one thing we truly miss as we age: our childhood. May God keep us as children in this old world.
"The simplicity and peace and joy
Of Childhood
You restore to Me.
You make all things New,
All things Reborn in You..."
-Jon Vowell
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