Young and Old

Last Sunday, my wife and I sat on one side of the aisle in our church. And our daughter (1.2 years) was with friends on the other side on the same row.

Whenever she looked at our direction, we tried to motion her. She did not notice. After several rounds and with persistent pointing towards us by our friends, she managed to see her mother. But she didn’t see me. Only when she was close to my wife, she actually saw me.

Then I reflect this: Children begin seeing life from a close distance. New born can see only with 8 to 10 inches from their face. Perhaps, no one born with long-sightedness like most adult suffer. I often see older people reading books from an arm length!

In life too, we see young people concerned for immediate things. They are reckless. Not willing to wait. They would rather do things as they come. They don’t do insurance! The opposite is true for older people. They wait and see long term perspectives. They are worried for anything that might go wrong. “What if” question dwell on their mind.

In a Bible college, a professor used to say, “I don’t like to teach the first year student because they behave and talk as if they know everything”. The fresh year students are emphatic and say so much with loud voice and with much conviction. The final year student learned much and they try to balance many perspectives. And sometime they talk as if they don’t have perspectives, bringing only what other people say.

In organizations, the new staff begins slow. They learn the culture and work along with older staff. They don’t do policy making in the first place. Sometimes older staff …

I like the Scriptures in terms of our Christian walk both children and adult images are used to encourage in our growth. Three verses came to my attention:

·         Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation – I Peter 2:2.

·         Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature – I Cor 14:20.

·         When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways – I Cor 13:11.

Sometimes it is good to be like kids, seeing things immediate to us and yearning to be fed and led. But other times we need to be matured, being firm/decisive, knowledgeable and maintain long distance.