Gospel Prism

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

A baby’s body is a paradox. At six months, a strange morphing takes place. While the baby’s trunk and legs grow at a stable pace, the head outdistances its body almost over night. Many say that that is what makes babies so adorable. I say it is the paradox of a baby, a child’s body and a grown-up’s head. C.S. Lewis picks up the same analogy in regard to the Christian life.

Lewis comments on Matthew 10:16 in Mere Christianity, “He [Jesus] told us to be not only ‘as harmless as doves’, but also ‘as wise as serpents’. He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good as children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, in first-class fighting trim.� The text is a prescription to deal with a world that is vehemently opposed to Christ and His message. Jesus does not send the disciples into a possible snake pit, but sends them presently in the midst of wolves. He makes it clear to them that in this world they will have trouble (John 16:33). Any Christian who has ever ventured to live by biblical standards or express even the slightest hint of his or her faith, knows the reality of Jesus’ words. So what allows Christians to hold their ground in the midst of wolves? The answer lies in a child’s heart and a grown-up’s head.

Lewis tells us that a child’s heart is simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable. Living with two children, I have had the privilege of seeing the vivacious joy that children have in dealing with a new world to explore. Matters of money and pragmatism do not hinder children’s desire to play with mud. They do not hold back from picking up sand because it will ruin their clothing, or possibly damage a pair of pants beyond repair. They do not consume themselves with worries of cleaning up, the need to look presentable. No, they are mindful only of the joy of sand, the feeling of each granule filtering through the fingers, the exhilaration of bringing parts together to build mounds, only to pulverize them and then repeat the process all over again. Children also enjoy loving and being loved. They are generally free to embrace and crave the embrace of others. Children are emotive. Their banner is their emotions.

Grown-up’s think. They plan and organize. They are practical. They create systems to make the most of opportunities. Grown-ups analyze details. Grown-ups grow. It’s the nature of things. While grown-ups might grow up at different paces, each person should grow to the point God has enabled a person to grow. As Lewis puts it: “He has room for people with little sense, but He wants everyone to use what sense they have.�

These two God-bestowed traits were meant to work together for the good of His creation. It is the essential formula for a sanctified Christian, one who grows to understand his or her faith to great depths, and yet, humility, simplicity, teachability is what marks this person’s life. Too often, the scales tip to an extreme. People are so consumed by theological rhetoric and argument, that what is lost is the “theo� in theology. God is no longer God, but a subject not too much different than applied mathematics. A brilliant, biblical scholar and professor of New Testament had an extramarital affair during his tenure in teaching at a seminary. When confronted by his peers, he attempted to explain away his sin by using convoluted exegesis and theological doubletalk to exempt himself from any wrongdoing. Some of the greatest biblical scholars and theologians, including John Calvin, did some regrettable things in church history all in the name of theological purity.

This is not an apologetic for babyism or what Lewis calls “intellectual slackers.� In fact, I wholeheartedly agree with Lewis when he says: “Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.� Christianity opens up the whole world of thoughts and ideas in a way that no other discipline could ever do.

But if an honest assessment, however, reveals that one’s focus is solely the academic study of God without any desire to see how God’s truth impacts one’s eternal destiny, then what good is it for a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul (Matthew 16:26)?

The Bible says that the Law of the Lord is perfect. There is perfection in this wondrous picture, that God loves what John Stott calls the BBC or “biblically-balanced Christian.� Christians are called to be humble, teachable, simple, single-minded. Christians are also called to be intellectual, rational, logical, thoughtful. Only the Spirit can bring these two worlds together and not only bring about co-existence, but real synergy. A child’s heart with a grown-up’s head never looked better.