Friday, January 21, 2011

A bit of baby talk

Admittedly I have difficulty at times simply getting through the day. Stuff of my own making, really. Losing keys, wallet, direction. Having trouble with pain. Having trouble feeling low about pain. Just stuff. It builds and builds and i-t-j-u-s-t flops.

God knows this. God speaks to this. Apparently I am not alone in this malady.

"God will speak to his people in baby talk, one syllable at a time -- and he'll do it through foreign oppressors. He said before, 'this is the time and place to rest, to give rest to the weary. This is the place to lay down your burden." But they won't listen."

God will speak to us in baby talk because we're not intelligent enough to hear him in words he could use. He will do anything to get our attention.

That's comforting.
That's humbling.
That's frightening.

What will he use to get our attention? "So God will start over with the simple basics and address them in baby talk, one syllable at a time --'Da,da,da,blah,blah,blah,blah. That's a good little girls. That's a good little boy.' And like toddlers, they will get up and fall down, get bruised and confused and lost."

That's The Message's translation of the 28th chapter of Isaiah of God's words to Israel, just before it was taken away to Babylon. God was saying, I can't get complicated in my speech because you won't listen and you won't understand.

Nothing has changed but time.

Today, we argue over whether we are brothers and sisters when clearly God allowed for all to come into his kingdom. We argue about what we can say and whether it will offend, when the basics of Christianity are simple: Did you love God with all your heart? Did you love your neighbor with all your heart?

Done. Baby talk for the converted and those who would be.

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