We have a lot of definitions of innocence. The word is dependent upon the understanding of the definition and how it is applied. Innocence can be discovered as young as a baby or into the senior years equally. A lot of our "I remember when..." are experiences are born from the discovery of innocence. The innocence discovered can be positive, negative or anywhere in the middle. How we experience innocence focuses our future. Quite often that focusing alters the way we think of others as well.
Experiencing the discovery of an innocence ends one element of our lives while awakening while beginning another. I don't think we are always looking for the moment when innocence is thrust upon us and those around us. We even go so far as to not see the innocence even when we are confronted with the revealed innocence. The first time we witness a birth; innocence is dumped us. We express our these discoveries in many different ways. .However, we are unable to undo that moment. Innocence is like that.
Sometimes, but not often, innocence is there doing it's thing and we haven't been able to see because of the inattention we live. And yet, when we experience some events the innocence has been ripped away by someone or something involved in our lives. Birth and death are both innocent experiences as we are that innocence. No one can experience them for us. Even wen untimely, that experience is ours. Those first moments and last moments are ours. They cannot be taken away. People try to take innocence from us. Unless they are at the top of their game, they will fail. That also means that no one can experience these two with us. They have their own innocent event going on.
When we look at the purpose of innocence we see our own experiences as well as the definition of innocence. It doesn't matter which one drives the process; it just means that innocence is individually experienced. Sometimes when we have a big innocence event we find it hard even to put words together that adequately explain the event. We, ourselves, are overwhelmed with what has taken place and because of this the words cannot come. Yet, innocence has been dropped on us changing once again the world we live in.
Have you ever been telling a joke to someone and someone blurts out the punch line before you can get there? Many have been in situations where the "innocence" has been stolen. The person doing the stealing is getting nothing. The one who is getting to the innocent event receives some but not all of what they needed. For many innocence is too painful to risk further exposure to other innocence events. A child living with the forever innocent memory seems always to remember the negative as they avoid experiencing the loss again.
When Jesus came to earth, lived his 33 years and died then rose from a terrible death innocence was dumped on the people around him. Some were so overwhelmed they could not say anything. Some seemed to always be in the right time and place that their innocent event was what made their day. Where innocence is tied with new events or thoughts, think of all those who had a "first" innocent event. Mary and the virgin birth, Peter walking on water, and John witnessing the terrible death of his Savior to name a few. Just as those religious authorities sought to stop the innocence of Jesus' life; there are some who still to this day try to stop the event in their lives and the lives of others.
I don't remember being born. I haven't experienced dying yet. In between these two innocent events lie many positive and negative innocent experiences. When I think back on these events I find it difficult to focus on the negative. I think that's where God wants our hearts and heads. Fix your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Look for the innocent event. Relish it as it happens and anticipate positively the next one. Should we focus our Christian life in that manner we will see all sorts of innocent events taking place. You may not be able to "redo" the event but you can engage the next one. You are a innocent event for someone. Christ is that event through you.
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