The Innocence of Children

In the mornings I listen to an AM radio show called Quinn and Rose. Rose is a Christian, but surprised me this morning with a comment along the lines of 'All that is best in adults is the child which still lives inside them.' She may have been reading someone else's words rather than her own at that point, and I'm sure I butchered the exact wording, but nonetheless she expressed the sentiment with no qualifications and in seeming agreement.

Biblically, the idea is absolute nonsense. It's the humanist worldview that holds that children are naturally innocent and good and are only corrupt by the evil of society, because humanism rejects the concept of original sin. The Biblical worldview, as expressed in Proverbs 22:13 is that "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Biblically, our adorable infants are steeped in sin, and though they may not have facility to make sinful choices yet, as soon as they are able to start making choices, the choices will be sinful and selfish.

The whole notion is nonsense even without a biblical worldview. Just by observing reality, how can anyone say that the best in us is our leftover child, especially around Christmas. Sure, kids love Christmas, and if you love your children, the joy they receive from Christmas brings you joy, too. But WHY do they love Christmas? Mostly because they're getting toys and candy and presents, etc. etc. etc. How can anyone watch a family, in which the children are primarily interested in self, and the parents sacrifice on a daily basis for the good of their children, and not see the truth? Of course, I'm referring to functional families. In fact, 'disfunctional families' are probably those headed by adults who still haven't left childhood behind.

Okay, enough. I've made my point, but boy, she should have known better.

Come out from them....

I was reading in 2nd Corinthians 6 today, and was struck by the end of the chapter. Just after the admonition not to be 'yoked together with unbelievers,' which is generally applied primarily to marriage, comes the following:

"What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?" (M note: Belial signifies the devil.) "What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God... 'Therefore, come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord."

I don't disagree with applying this to marriage, but I think it has much wider application than that. It makes me long for believers who send, or intend to send, their precious, impressionable children off to be trained, discipled, taught, and schooled by those referred to here by Paul 'unbelievers,' 'wicknedness,' 'darkness,' 'Belial,' and the 'temple of idols' to read and seriously consider this scripture in light of their children's education.

Final comment, 'temple of idols' really does seem an apt description for government schools these days.

Stuck in thorns

We had uncommonly warm weather here early last week, so one afternoon the kids and I happened to take a ramble in the woods near our home. (I actually intended it to be a walk the the lovely, paved path through the woods, but with my daughter Becky along, that was unlikely.

Thus is was that I found myself standing with Becky in front of me calling me forward, and Tim standing impatiently behind, while I had approximately half a dozen thorns attached to various parts of my clothing and anatomy. (On a side note, did you know that a thorn can pierce your fingernail and cause a little spot of blood to well up in the middle of it?)

So, this morning I read the following in Proverbs 15:19:

The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a highway.

I can quite relate, especially as my daughter had offered to take a big stick and smash down all the thorns for me, but I didn't want to take the time. (After all, she'd slipped through it all quite easily, but that's another topic!)

Global Warming?

This is the 4th day in a row that's been warm enough to take my walk outside instead of on the treadmill in the basement... I've heard that some are saying that instead of global warming, we're actually headed for another ice age. I'd much prefer the warming, thank you. Bring it on!

Achoo!

Woke up sneezing and sniffling Saturday morning... I'm very grateful that it came when it did and not before!

Friday night. the kids and their cousins put on a Christmas play in our basement, complete with costumes, lighting, sets, etc. It's kept me quite busy for the last couple of months, so I'm glad I didn't get sick until afterward.

Took most of the weekend more or less off; now, it's time to finish Christmas preparations. After that, two more big projects (creating a 'bible study badge' program for the Keepers' group, and running a Valentine's Day party for our homeschool group) and then I coast for the spring!

Sunrise!

One of the (many) things I like better about living in Ohio than in Massachusetts is the sun factor. What I mean is that in spite of being approximately an 11 hour drive straight west, Ohio is in the same time zone as Boston, so we have more evening light and less morning light.

So, only in the shortest part of the year does Doug leave work after it's already dark, which is neat, but one drawback is that I see fewer sunrises. This morning I did, though and it's just beautiful.

Thanks, God.

I'm impressed!

I talked to my friend last night... She said that although she'd been floored by the diagnosis, she knows God isn't surprised at all, and she trusts that this is part of his plan for her... "He wants me to walk through this without complaining and with a smile on my face and that's what I'm going to do."

Praise God for his grace to us, and for his faithfulness which allows such a godly response.

Sad...

Found out yesterday that woman I respect and have great affection for has cancer. She had an operation to remove her thyroid, and they found cancer not only in the thyroid, but also elsewhere in her body. I know quite little about cancer (for which I should be grateful) and no more about her case than I've mentioned, but it sounds like she's got a tough road ahead.

Memo to self: God is still good; God is still sovereign; This family is still under his care.