On Children

I’m blessed to have a number of friends and family with children. Some of our close friends have very young (2+ yrs old) children, and my godson is about that age as well.

I can’t describe how wonderful it is to watch children.

You see a child and they are utterly reliant upon their parents. They look to them as they play, gaining confidence from encouragement. They investigate everything. EVERYTHING! They are trying to figure things out. They toddle about precariously, and their parents are there to catch them, or to pick them up when they fall; to kiss the “ouches” and “ows” good-bye.

Children also look at their parents in mischief. Just the other day, I saw a child running away with their father’s hat, about to throw it into the water. The father said “Don’t you do that, or I’ll be very angry.” The toddler looked back, torn between obedience and the excitement over seeing what would happen to daddy’s hat if it floated away.

There are few things in life more beautiful than watching a child run to their parent(s) for comfort. They get scared by an animal; they find something which unsettles them; they get injured; their feelings are hurt. When these things happen, they run to mommy or daddy. And their parents have open arms, hugs, and kisses. And after this comfort, they immediately rush into the fray again, ready to confront any fear, danger, or new experience.

I can’t help but think of God and His relationship to us. We are utterly reliant upon God for everything–our food, our rain, our lives, our very existence. Yes, many of these things are provided through means, but ultimately they are from God.

Yet we are like children–we do things just to see if we can get away with them. We mess with “daddy’s things”–the wealth we have been blessed with in countries like the U.S.; our free time; our free will–and see if God’s looking.

Yet ultimately, we are like children in another way. Without God, without our parent, we are lost. We have none to look to for guidance, and we realize that need. It brings to mind something Jesus said,

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Luke 18:17, NIV)

What is it to “receive the Kingdom of God like a little child? I think it is exactly what it sounds like: to realize that we are utterly reliant upon God. To go running to God in our needs. To realize that with God, we can do anything.

SDG.

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What _is_ this place?

Hello to anyone reading this. I’m J.W. Wartick and I’m already a fairly regular blogger over at my main site, Always Have a Reason. That site is itself about philosophy of religion as well as Christian apologetics, theology, and science. But I have way more interests than I could contain on just that blog.

I have a fascination for history, science, and the arts. I love reading sci-fi, fantasy, and history. Paleontology and archaeology fascinate me. I love playing role-playing games and driving franchises in Madden.

In short, I need an outlet for all these things–a place for me to just reflect on my interests that don’t seem to fall under the umbrella of my main site. There is too much going on in this head to keep it all in.

You, the reader, may find this diverting. I know how interesting it can be to explore the random thoughts of people. Hopefully this site will lead you to some new interests, or perhaps you’ll comment and help lead me off to learn about things about which I know little or nothing.

You, the reader, are therefore asked by me, the author, to leave your own reflections on the topics I present here. Or, if you desire, you can just post about other random interests of your own. When I put up a post on the Battle of Midway, you can respond by talking about Gettysburg. That is fine! Please do so!

Finally, readers are entitled to a bit of background about myself if we’re going to have engaging discussions. I’m a Christian theist who loves a good debate. I’m getting an M.A. in Christian Apologetics. Philosophy of religion is my primary interest, but as you read on here you’ll find I have interests all over the place. I’m a devoted Christian who believes that the evidence for Christian theism is quite strong (if you want to read on that, you should check out my main site). You’ll note, then, that theism–indeed, Christian theism–permeates my posts, even when I’m talking about things unrelated to it. I’ll not apologize for that. We all let our worldviews into every aspect of our lives. I hope as you read here you’ll find some questions to ask and, maybe even some answers.