Lesson 2: Born to Interpret, part II
In the previous lesson, you saw that an infant in the cradle is not intellectually idle. He is busy putting together the fundamental interpretive standards around which he will continue to construct his worldview. Today, I want you to consider the spiritual implications of the baby's worldview activity.
You and I have become so accustomed to language and rational thought that it's hard for us to imagine the baby's consciousness. No words… No concepts… Nothing but you. . . AND GOD.
The Bible makes it clear that God confronts every person in the world. We can see this plainly in Psalm 139.
YHWH, you have searched me, and You know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, YHWH, You know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty .I can't attain it.
Where could I go from Your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there Your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;" even the darkness doesn't hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Imagine how hard it would be to ignore God if all thoughts and mental concepts were wiped away. Nothing left, but the reality of you and Him. Nevertheless, apart from His grace, everyone suppresses that knowledge. Look at Romans 1:18-20 (WEB):
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Rejection of God is the core and essence of sin. I came into this world a God-rejecting sinner, and so did you. The Psalmist says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5, WEB).
This means that from the beginning – even before birth, going back to conception -- a child exercises an anti-God bias. Theologians have named this inborn bias "Original Sin". The question before us is how that bias affects the origin and development of a child's worldview.
You have already seen that a newborn does not have the ability to make sense of what he encounters in the world around him. But because of an innate drive, he starts making mental connections that will help him understand the input from his eyes, ears and other sensory organs. For a worldview, it's rudimentary, but it fits our definition of a worldview, nonetheless.
The point I now want to make is that every worldview has an ultimate reference point. Your worldview is either rooted in yourself or in your Creator. No exceptions. (Even the ancient pagan religious worldviews started with gods that resembled man -- Rom. 1:22 23.)
This means that as little Junior coos in his cradle, piecing together the beginnings of his worldview, he has a choice to make. A deeply spiritual choice with far-reaching implications. He must choose whether he will orient his interpretation of the world around the Creator whose presence he cannot escape, or around himself.
Let that sink in a moment. Long before he ever learns to read the Bible, or to sing "Jesus Loves Me", or to understand a gospel message, your baby has made a choice. The choice is real, and God recognizes the choice and its eternal implications as valid. He has chosen himself as the reference point for his worldview. Or has he?
Our God is a gracious God, and He does not leave His people without hope for them or for their children. "For the promise is to you, and to your children . . .” (Acts 2:39) The vehicle for these intergenerational blessings is something the Bible calls a covenant.
Christian marriage is a covenant before God. The LORD instituted the marriage covenant in order to raise up godly offspring. In the Bible we read, "Did He not make one, although He had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed" (Micah 2:15).
God is not limited in the free exercise of His grace. He confronts your child, even from the womb. And if the baby has the ability to reject God from the beginning, then He can give the child grace and ability to make the right choice, as well.
While these teachings may sound unfamiliar to you, I invite you to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. If you are a Christian, your child is holy (literally, "a saint" I Cor. 7:14) before God. He never meant for you to consider that the salvation of your child is random or uncertain. It rests upon conditional promises just as certainly as your own salvation does.
We are coming to the end of this lesson, but before I close I want you, as a parent who loves and nurtures a little child to ask yourself how you pray for that little one. Do you pray that your child will "someday" come to Jesus? What about now?
Under the fluffy blankets, and beneath the soft flannel sleeper, a mighty conflict rages for the soul of your child. You have strong promises from God to claim. Do you pray about what is happening even now in your child's heart?
"Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great and wondrous salvation which You wrought for us in Christ. Right now we pray for our children and grandchildren of all ages. Fulfill your covenant promises; bring our children to repentance and saving faith in our Lord Jesus. Help us, as parents and grandparents to learn all the conditions you place upon us, and give us the grace to fulfill those conditions that we may see our children grow up as godly people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
In the next lesson we will talk about the various facets of faith, and how old your child must be to have saving faith. In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about what the covenant means to you and to your child, why not order a copy of "Rearing Faithful Children" and read the chapter entitled, "Life in the Covenant with Father"?
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
In the previous lesson, you saw that an infant in the cradle is not intellectually idle. He is busy putting together the fundamental interpretive standards around which he will continue to construct his worldview. Today, I want you to consider the spiritual implications of the baby's worldview activity.
You and I have become so accustomed to language and rational thought that it's hard for us to imagine the baby's consciousness. No words… No concepts… Nothing but you. . . AND GOD.
The Bible makes it clear that God confronts every person in the world. We can see this plainly in Psalm 139.
YHWH, you have searched me, and You know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, YHWH, You know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty .I can't attain it.
Where could I go from Your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there Your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;" even the darkness doesn't hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
Imagine how hard it would be to ignore God if all thoughts and mental concepts were wiped away. Nothing left, but the reality of you and Him. Nevertheless, apart from His grace, everyone suppresses that knowledge. Look at Romans 1:18-20 (WEB):
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
Rejection of God is the core and essence of sin. I came into this world a God-rejecting sinner, and so did you. The Psalmist says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5, WEB).
This means that from the beginning – even before birth, going back to conception -- a child exercises an anti-God bias. Theologians have named this inborn bias "Original Sin". The question before us is how that bias affects the origin and development of a child's worldview.
You have already seen that a newborn does not have the ability to make sense of what he encounters in the world around him. But because of an innate drive, he starts making mental connections that will help him understand the input from his eyes, ears and other sensory organs. For a worldview, it's rudimentary, but it fits our definition of a worldview, nonetheless.
The point I now want to make is that every worldview has an ultimate reference point. Your worldview is either rooted in yourself or in your Creator. No exceptions. (Even the ancient pagan religious worldviews started with gods that resembled man -- Rom. 1:22 23.)
This means that as little Junior coos in his cradle, piecing together the beginnings of his worldview, he has a choice to make. A deeply spiritual choice with far-reaching implications. He must choose whether he will orient his interpretation of the world around the Creator whose presence he cannot escape, or around himself.
Let that sink in a moment. Long before he ever learns to read the Bible, or to sing "Jesus Loves Me", or to understand a gospel message, your baby has made a choice. The choice is real, and God recognizes the choice and its eternal implications as valid. He has chosen himself as the reference point for his worldview. Or has he?
Our God is a gracious God, and He does not leave His people without hope for them or for their children. "For the promise is to you, and to your children . . .” (Acts 2:39) The vehicle for these intergenerational blessings is something the Bible calls a covenant.
Christian marriage is a covenant before God. The LORD instituted the marriage covenant in order to raise up godly offspring. In the Bible we read, "Did He not make one, although He had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed" (Micah 2:15).
God is not limited in the free exercise of His grace. He confronts your child, even from the womb. And if the baby has the ability to reject God from the beginning, then He can give the child grace and ability to make the right choice, as well.
While these teachings may sound unfamiliar to you, I invite you to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. If you are a Christian, your child is holy (literally, "a saint" I Cor. 7:14) before God. He never meant for you to consider that the salvation of your child is random or uncertain. It rests upon conditional promises just as certainly as your own salvation does.
We are coming to the end of this lesson, but before I close I want you, as a parent who loves and nurtures a little child to ask yourself how you pray for that little one. Do you pray that your child will "someday" come to Jesus? What about now?
Under the fluffy blankets, and beneath the soft flannel sleeper, a mighty conflict rages for the soul of your child. You have strong promises from God to claim. Do you pray about what is happening even now in your child's heart?
"Heavenly Father, we thank You for the great and wondrous salvation which You wrought for us in Christ. Right now we pray for our children and grandchildren of all ages. Fulfill your covenant promises; bring our children to repentance and saving faith in our Lord Jesus. Help us, as parents and grandparents to learn all the conditions you place upon us, and give us the grace to fulfill those conditions that we may see our children grow up as godly people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
In the next lesson we will talk about the various facets of faith, and how old your child must be to have saving faith. In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about what the covenant means to you and to your child, why not order a copy of "Rearing Faithful Children" and read the chapter entitled, "Life in the Covenant with Father"?
Copyright 2006
By Craig Mutton
Standard Copyright License
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