Sabbath Thought – Babes in Christ

I had the very special blessing of spending this past week with our “brand new” granddaughter, Adeline. Newborn babies are a blessing from God (Psalm 127:3). A newborn also brings thoughts of hope for their potential future – what skills and talents will they have or develop, what positive character traits will they have, will they be happy and thrive?

It has been said that babies learn more in the first five years of life than they learn the rest of their life – because everything is new to them, they are learning all of the skills of self-care, and they are learning all of the foundational aspects of knowledge they will build on the rest of their life. It has also been said that by age 10, a child has established their core values and character.

God has revealed to His people the understanding of His plan of salvation through the observance of His annual Holy Days. That plan of salvation includes the knowledge that God is building a family. The parallels between physical birth, growth and maturity, and the same on a spiritual level are worth noting. When God calls us we are very much spiritual babies – learning so much, internalizing understanding, and growing!

As children grow, we see familial traits develop – their physical likeness, characteristics, and even their speech (including vocabulary, voice pattern, and tone). Does God see that in each of us? As we grow and mature spiritually does God see us looking and behaving more and more like Him? Do others recognize that we reflect our Father in what we look like, how we behave, and even in our speech?

Like physical children, we do not mature in just a few years, but rather over the course of decades. The challenges of life can help shape who we become. Family support can be critical to help through times of growth and development. Parental modeling of proper behavior is hugely important. Parental patience is necessary as we learn. We have all of this, and more, in our heavenly Father.

Life (and especially eternal life) is precious because it is not random, and because it is a gift from God (Romans 6:23). Do you see your growth and development as a precious child of God? Do you see the patience and love He gives us as we grow spiritually? Do you have the vision of becoming (completely) a part of His family?

I wish you a very wonderful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

11 January, 2024