Quote of the Day: God Is Forever Young

 

G.K. Chesterton at age 17.

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
— G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

I was reminded of this quote recently while watching the film Leon Morin, Priest for my blog about church and clergy in movies. In the film, a parishioner asks the priest about why Jesus had to die. Among other things, Morin says perhaps Jesus died as a young man so that God would be eternally young. I’m not sure I’d vouch for the theological veracity of that idea, but it is interesting.

And that reminded me of yet another thing. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing @GrannyDude preach. That Sunday she asked the congregation which two traits were most likely to make us fear a person. She said studies show (throughout many cultures) that we are more likely to fear a person who is young and a man. Because young men are more likely to act rashly, violently. But also more likely to act bravely, valiantly. Then she said, “Isn’t it interesting that when God came into the world He came as a young man?”

I don’t have access to the statistics, but I’m pretty sure that the average Ricochet member is not young (in a strictly chronological sense). In fact, these days, many of us old folks have a tendency to look at today’s youth (paranoid about the current virus and tearing down everything good in our culture for the sake of “social justice”) as fools.

But we can trust God in these strange days to work, even in the hearts and minds of the young; to do good, new things. And to continue doing good, old things. We can trust the God who was and is and is to come. We can trust the God who is forever young. (No H/T to Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.)

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  1. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Eustace C. Scrubb: But we can trust God in these strange days to work, even in the hearts and minds of the young; to do good, new things. And to continue doing good, old things. We can trust the God who was and is and is to come. We can trust the God who is forever young.

    I like this. I may have to write a few things based off this.


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    • #1
  2. B. W. Wooster Member
    B. W. Wooster
    @HenryV

    There is a copy of this same quote tucked inside my Bible.  A keeper.  

    • #2
  3. JoelB Member
    JoelB
    @JoelB

    Sometimes I wonder if God didn’t create adults mainly for the purpose of filling the earth with children.

    • #3
  4. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Though the question of “Why do children die?” is above my pay grade, one answer might be that the love of small children is different in kind than the love of adults and perhaps the Lord wants to preserve such childish love in Heaven where there is neither death nor birth. 

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  5. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    I am increasingly in league with my grandchildren against the needless strictures of their parents. The quote makes me think less about monotony versus novelty and variety than about the need to discover and delight what is in front of us.  A toddler seeing a butterfly or holding a frog or salamander is truly wondrous precisely because they know nothing of its taxonomy, evolution,  life cycle, ecolology, or significance as an environmental health indicator.

    My 90-year-old mother-in-law is losing her hearing but paying more attention to bird songs in response.  I was able to tell her the species of the four of five species that routinely visit her porch in summertime and she was delighted to know that her favorite, was a red-eyed vireo.

    Getting lost in work, ideology, entertainments, and various struggles such that it is no longer possible to notice much less affirm and enjoy what is always right there in front of us is soul-killing.  Living long enough to begin to come out of that fog to be child-like enough to bring all that experience and learning to bear on simpler affirmations is a gift.

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  6. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    I am increasingly in league with my grandchildren against the needless strictures of their parents.

    My father-in-law used to make us laugh when he would say, “There’s a special bond between grandchildren and grandparents. That’s because they have a common enemy.” :-)  

    • #6
  7. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    MarciN (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    I am increasingly in league with my grandchildren against the needless strictures of their parents.

    My father-in-law used to make us laugh when he would say, “There’s a special bond between grandchildren and grandparents. That’s because they have a common enemy.” :-)

    Some truth there.  My daughter complained to her mother and me about how her daughter doesn’t listen and is annoyingly moody. We laughed and laughed… 

    • #7
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    My daughter complained to her mother and me about how her daughter doesn’t listen and is annoyingly moody. We laughed and laughed… 

    Trees. Nuts.

    • #8
  9. JoelB Member
    JoelB
    @JoelB

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    MarciN (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    I am increasingly in league with my grandchildren against the needless strictures of their parents.

    My father-in-law used to make us laugh when he would say, “There’s a special bond between grandchildren and grandparents. That’s because they have a common enemy.” :-)

    Some truth there. My daughter complained to her mother and me about how her daughter doesn’t listen and is annoyingly moody. We laughed and laughed…

    What goes around comes around. :-)

    • #9
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