My parents and grandparents have always been fond of recounting how I was such a well-behaved child because I was quite happy to play on my own, and I never quite appreciated how much it meant to them until my mom developed her condition.
In many ways she is the quintessential child - hungry for attention, attentive to tone and nuance much more than logic and reason, disobedient, wilful, fond of sweets, easily amused, and happiest when her family members play with her.
Strip a human being of all his upbringing, his socialising, his learned responses to situations, and you have the child. And that child remains with us throughout our lives - that child is who we really are beneath the layers of conditioning and norming. And that same child is loved by God and loves Him in return, in the same way I see my mom try her best (in her limited capacity) to offer her help to us, and happily asks us to take her to her favourite eating place for her favourite food with the full expectation that her request will be acceded to. Ask, and it shall be given unto you.
And some days, when I look at her, I wonder if she is not better off in this state, where she is happy and carefree, rather than worrying constantly about the smallest of things as she was wont to do. Indeed, Matthew 18:3 makes a whole lot more sense in the light of Matthew 6:25-34. If all that is true and consistent then she is well prepared to enter the Kingdom of God.
Of course the Bible could be bogus, but then I would at least admire the supernaturally keen perception of the human condition that the writers have displayed.
It's a pity people don't spend that much time with their children nowadays. They could learn so much from them.
And yes there are plenty of gaps in the expressed train of thought here but I'm not externalising enough to fill them in. See my blog subtitle.
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