Pastoral Pings: The Childlike Faith that Grows to Adultlike Knowledge

          As a child is growing up, he will be immersed in a world where people talk about things far above his level of comprehension, even while he is developing a bond with his parents that is based on their personal care of him. As he continues growing, he becomes aware that the adults in his life are talking about things he can’t understand. However, he knows that these are his family, and, over the years, he develops a growing curiosity about what they mean.

          Each year the child becomes more aware of words, and meanings, and slowly begins to comprehend these adult discussions. One day he is old enough that he can join in, first with limited thoughts and expressions, and later on with mature understanding of what he believes, and of what others are saying.

          This helps me picture the way someone can become a Christian, born again by the Spirit of God, while only having a childlike faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Brand new Christians cannot debate seasoned atheists if their lives depended on it; and yet, they know their Father, and they know his word is true even though they have only begun to scratch the surface on the thoughts of the eternal God.

          The confidence that a child of God has in the face of opposition is not based on how well he or she can argue in a debate. Winning a conversation with door-to-door cult missionaries may never happen. Following an evolutionist’s journey through the minefields of science fiction may be a lifelong frustration. However, the children of God can live by faith in the completeness of God’s word, and the absolute perfection of his revelation no matter how little of it we have come to understand.

          Okay, I’ll let you know why I am sharing this. I just came across this paragraph from the sacred text of God’s holy word, and it left me feeling like a little child who could barely contain my wonder at such an awesome revelation, while smiling with the joy that my Father had just spoken so far above my head that I have this delightful crick in my neck just giving it my best try to understand what he could possibly mean.

⁹ And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ¹¹ When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ¹² And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the whirling wheels.” ¹⁴ And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 10)

          Now, if that don’t just make you want to get to know God better, I’m not sure what will!

          From my heart,

          Monte

 

© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)