And a Little Child Shall Lead Them
Grandparenting is great. I spent the day with my 3.5 year old granddaughter this week. She is so full of energy! And she has a very short attention span. About every ten minutes she shifts her attention to something new. One minute she wants to watch a movie. This week's choice was Toy Story 2. After a short bit of viewing she's off to another room playing with dolls. Ten minutes later, if that, she's playing with play dough. (It's exhausting for Opa. Opa is my German grandpa name) No sooner than she's chose one activity, she moves on to another. And I can't keep up. It's feels like flipping though channels on a radio station, but without the annoyance of commercials.
I love her dearly and I truly believe being a grandparent is helping me to become a better person. For instance, she loves to play and pretend. We have fun together with little figurines. We move them with our hands and make noises for them with our mouths. Sometimes we speak for the toys in play conversation. She loves it and there's lots of laughter when she bonks my figurine on the head with her figurine. I am rediscovering the value of play. My play is often passively watching a movie or television series. Her play is mimicking life as she has experienced it. She nurtures her doll like she's seen others nurture babies. She rehearses conversations she's heard others share. She aspires toward grown up ways. And grown ups want to get back to childlike wonder.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about a future time of peace and prosperity for Israel under the leadership of a divinely anointed king of the line of David. He uses imagery of natural enemies living together in harmony.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them. (Isa 11:6)
What's striking to me is the last line of the verse, "a little child shall lead them." No doubt that Isaiah was continuing the theme of enemy parings when he said a little child would be leading this odd menagerie. A vulnerable child in the presence of powerful predators like wolves, leopards and lions is a miraculous sight. The animals following the infant's lead is even more remarkable.
I was lead around by my 3.5 year old granddaughter and it was exhausting. I needed some "me time" afterward. The child has the attention span of a second hand on a clock. She's always on the move. Can you imagine how the child might lead the animals? I'm sure it would be amusing.
Of course, we are supposed to understand that something out of the ordinary is occuring, for the little child will be safe among the predators. The sheep, goats and cattle shall also graze peacefully without fear of the predators. The reason for this remarkable peace, Isaiah later explains, is the knowledge of God.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isa 11:9)
The little child has taken on a greater meaning among Christian interpreters. Jesus came to this world as a little child. The Son of God was made flesh and born to a virgin. We sing Christmas carols about Him each year. This little child, filled the fullness of God, became King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His leadership is unquestionably right and true, and He leads with compassion for the poor. Justice reigns supreme in the kingdom of Christ.
Now I fall back on my thoughts of being lead around by a little child. I was exhausted by the constant shifting of attention from one thing to another. I wonder, though, how I might exasperate God, my Father in heaven, by my shifting from one thing to another as I try and satisfy my soul's hunger in earthly delights. Saint Augustine said that we will not find rest until our hearts rest in God. I know this truth and yet, as I consider my daily activities, I probably look more like a toddler than a mature adult. I run after things and entertaining diversions rather than to the One who can truly satisfy the heart's insatiable hunger.
Jesus taught that we must enter the kingdom of heaven like a little child, if we are to enter at all. (Mat 18:2-4) If we are to see the reign of God's love in our lives, we need a child's eyes, the eyes of the little child born messiah. Christ is a child who sets His Father before Him as His delight. He keeps HIs eyes on His Father and His Father guides Him. In the same way a child unconditionally trusts their parents, we need the same faith to trust our God. A child is utterly dependent upon grown ups. We are foolish enough to behave like we are not utterly dependent upon God. When I chase after things in this world, those things end up owning me. But when I renew my vision to see as a child sees, I regain wonder, delight and trust in God and all His many blessings.
May we all find new ways each day to be led by a childlike heart.
I love her dearly and I truly believe being a grandparent is helping me to become a better person. For instance, she loves to play and pretend. We have fun together with little figurines. We move them with our hands and make noises for them with our mouths. Sometimes we speak for the toys in play conversation. She loves it and there's lots of laughter when she bonks my figurine on the head with her figurine. I am rediscovering the value of play. My play is often passively watching a movie or television series. Her play is mimicking life as she has experienced it. She nurtures her doll like she's seen others nurture babies. She rehearses conversations she's heard others share. She aspires toward grown up ways. And grown ups want to get back to childlike wonder.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about a future time of peace and prosperity for Israel under the leadership of a divinely anointed king of the line of David. He uses imagery of natural enemies living together in harmony.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them. (Isa 11:6)
What's striking to me is the last line of the verse, "a little child shall lead them." No doubt that Isaiah was continuing the theme of enemy parings when he said a little child would be leading this odd menagerie. A vulnerable child in the presence of powerful predators like wolves, leopards and lions is a miraculous sight. The animals following the infant's lead is even more remarkable.
I was lead around by my 3.5 year old granddaughter and it was exhausting. I needed some "me time" afterward. The child has the attention span of a second hand on a clock. She's always on the move. Can you imagine how the child might lead the animals? I'm sure it would be amusing.
Of course, we are supposed to understand that something out of the ordinary is occuring, for the little child will be safe among the predators. The sheep, goats and cattle shall also graze peacefully without fear of the predators. The reason for this remarkable peace, Isaiah later explains, is the knowledge of God.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isa 11:9)
The little child has taken on a greater meaning among Christian interpreters. Jesus came to this world as a little child. The Son of God was made flesh and born to a virgin. We sing Christmas carols about Him each year. This little child, filled the fullness of God, became King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His leadership is unquestionably right and true, and He leads with compassion for the poor. Justice reigns supreme in the kingdom of Christ.
Now I fall back on my thoughts of being lead around by a little child. I was exhausted by the constant shifting of attention from one thing to another. I wonder, though, how I might exasperate God, my Father in heaven, by my shifting from one thing to another as I try and satisfy my soul's hunger in earthly delights. Saint Augustine said that we will not find rest until our hearts rest in God. I know this truth and yet, as I consider my daily activities, I probably look more like a toddler than a mature adult. I run after things and entertaining diversions rather than to the One who can truly satisfy the heart's insatiable hunger.
Jesus taught that we must enter the kingdom of heaven like a little child, if we are to enter at all. (Mat 18:2-4) If we are to see the reign of God's love in our lives, we need a child's eyes, the eyes of the little child born messiah. Christ is a child who sets His Father before Him as His delight. He keeps HIs eyes on His Father and His Father guides Him. In the same way a child unconditionally trusts their parents, we need the same faith to trust our God. A child is utterly dependent upon grown ups. We are foolish enough to behave like we are not utterly dependent upon God. When I chase after things in this world, those things end up owning me. But when I renew my vision to see as a child sees, I regain wonder, delight and trust in God and all His many blessings.
May we all find new ways each day to be led by a childlike heart.
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