My husband and I have been
very blessed with our three babies. All
of them learned to sleep through the night at an early age, the gold standard
by which babies seem to be measured these days.
They have been cooperative in all areas that I can think of right
now. Our youngest child is eight months
old, and she is a joyful, friendly baby—is there any other kind of
eight-month-old? In the vein of author
Robert Fulghum, I’d like to notice with you several traits I have observed in
babies, realizing that sometimes important lessons can be gleaned from the most
obvious places.
First, babies don’t hold
grudges. I’ve seen our two-year-old
scare her little sister out of her wits with a loud noise or a sudden movement,
and the next minute the baby is all smiles and giggles again. She quickly forgets the unpleasantness of the
past and focuses on the thrill of the moment.
She doesn’t hold her older sister’s mistakes over her head indefinitely
or until some punishment has been enforced.
Babies move on.
Couldn’t we adults be more
like that? Couldn’t we bounce back
quickly from the annoying things that happen and get on with the important
things in life? The inspired apostle
Paul warns against hanging on to things like “bitterness” and “malice,” and
urges us instead to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). When something out of the past threatens to
thwart new progress toward our goals, it may help to remember Paul’s
encouraging words to the Philippians concerning their faith: “Forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal . . .”
(Philippians 3:13-15). Paul calls those
who are able to rise to this challenge “mature” -- I’d like to earn that label;
wouldn’t you?
Along with the ability babies
have of forgetting what took place in the past, there’s another interesting
stepping stone in their mental development.
I’m sure there’s a technical term for what happens after you take a toy
away from a baby who’s only a few months old.
As far as that baby is concerned, that toy never existed. It is immediately erased from his or her
memory. The baby doesn’t look for the
toy, doesn’t wonder where it went, and many times doesn’t seem to care or be
distressed that it is gone. Babies lack
faith in what they cannot see at that moment.
So it is with the spiritually
weak among us. Sometimes the struggle to
hold fast to our faith despite the worldly pressures around us is
overwhelmingly difficult. Paul writes
longingly of that time when his earthly labors will be past and reminds his
fellow believers that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians
5:7). Entangled in our daily trials and
concerns, it’s easy to forget that “faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Our God is real -- He loves and knows us (I
Peter 5:7; Matthew 10:30; Jeremiah 1:5).
We must strive to build up our faith through study of the Scriptures
(Romans 10:17), through prayer with our Father (Matthew 21:22), and through the
cultivation of strong relationships with other Christians who can encourage
us.
Secondly, I’ve noticed that
babies are enthusiastic investigators of just about anything and anyone who
comes along. They’ll reach out to grab a
new object, eager to explore and learn about it, and will stretch out their
little arms to be picked up and carried to a new place to see new faces. They’re thirsty for new information and are
ready to learn, learn, learn. Every day
brings more knowledge into their lives.
The excitement that we often
felt in our younger years about acquiring Bible knowledge may have waned as we
grew older. We may be feeling
self-satisfied with our level of mastery of God’s word, unmotivated to
challenge ourselves to a deeper, fuller understanding of the Scriptures. We may sit through the adult Bible classes,
providing rote answers to workbook questions when called on by the
teacher. We need to wake up! God expects much more than that from us, His
spiritual soldiers, in the fight against the “rulers of the darkness of this
age” (Ephesians 6:10-20). We should
reread this passage in Ephesians frequently to refresh our minds about how real
this struggle is.
As women, we must be
energized in our study of the Bible -- ready to teach others, to lead children
in thorough, exciting Bible classes, and to fulfill our own obligation as Bible
students competently. We set ourselves
up for spiritual annihilation if we fail in this effort (Hosea 4:6). We can’t be passive in our Christianity, but
actively look for ways to reach out to others with an encouraging word, with a
gentle admonition to do better, and with the message of salvation.
Finally, there are fewer
beings on this earth who seem to be happier than babies. When their stomachs are full, when they’ve
had a nap, and when their diapers are clean, they are truly, often deliriously
happy. My little one beams from ear to
ear with just the joy of being alive, and it brings me joy in turn to see her
so happy. In her own way, she provides a
good example to me of finding happiness in simply being alive -- in God’s
beautiful gift to us of life itself. Oh,
if we could only appreciate it more!
Why can’t we seem to put our
troubles aside long enough to be happy, at least some of the time? The Scriptures are full of entreaties to this
effect: Paul writes to the Philippians, “Rejoice
in the Lord always. Again I will say,
Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)! David’s
psalms are often exuberant -- for example, Psalm 100 begins, “Make a joyful
shout to the Lord, all ye lands! Serve
the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” And Peter praises the Christians facing
persecution with these touching words, reminding them that they have much to be
happy about: “Though now you do not see
Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith -- the salvation of your souls” (I Peter
1:8-9).
In considering what brings
about spiritual growth and maturity, it might seem silly at first to mention
babies or little children. Discussing
the attributes of little babies might appear to trivialize the very important
issues that we face as Christians.
However, Christ Himself used a child as an example of humility when
teaching His followers about spiritual greatness (Matthew 18:3-4), and He
welcomed the children who were brought to Him, “for of such is the kingdom of
heaven” (Matthew 19:13-14). Those who
were listening carefully to Jesus were able to pick up some valuable
information about true Christianity.
No doubt, the mothers and
grandmothers who may be reading this will be able to think of other ways that
little ones can represent lessons for us in our walk as Christian women. I have only listed a few here. As my children grow, I will do my best to
teach them “the way [they] should go” (Proverbs 22:6). But I’m sure they’ll continue to teach me
many things, too . . . if I will just be wise enough to learn.
