Education for Newborns

It is with some sadness that the Christian brings a little being into the world; a little child of the devil, born into the sin of Adam.  He or she will make many or all of the same mistakes you did.  Maybe more than you did.  Maybe more often than you did.  It is not as though you do not feel the burden of responsibility, or the enthusiasm to succeed where others abscond on theirs; the reality is simply that our children are born into the human race the same way we all have been: fatally flawed in a state of spiritual death.  The idea of infant baptism is one which I find psychologically attractive though unsubstantiated in Scripture; no matter, it is enough for me that God is Judge – the soul of every child is His. Although tainted by original sin, I have no further fear of or stock in the myth of "generational curses".

My thought is not about baptism; it is enough to say that the child will grow up and find "many devices".

Without despair, in Christ we begin training the child early, but at the very beginning with the easiest, most primal of things: eating, sleeping and defecating.  These are acts Christ Himself had to learn.  The "Holy infant tender and mild" I imagine screamed just as any baby might.  In the absence of rational conversation, I doubt that Jesus would have expressed the gnawing pain of hunger any differently than John the Baptist or your very own bundle of joy incarnate.  The absence of original sin did not remove the consequences of the rest of our folly for a suffering baby Jesus. 

I know a particular child who has the particular habit of avoiding the important necessity of eating.  The pain of the sinful world, that threat of death which rises from the stomach, rouses the baby from deep slumber.  The baby's father responds quickly, his ear is trained and he is always within earshot.  He is listening for signs of life.  At the beginning, the child sucks the milk vigorously, her eyes are transfixed on her father.  At a certain point she may become uncomfortable: she has swallowed more than nutritious milk.  Her daddy straightens her and vigorously pounds on her back until the malaise lurches forth.

The feeding carries on, but soon the child's eyes leaden in weight.  She grows quiet and all-too comfortable and her limbs drape limply at her sides.  Knowing that she needs to keep drinking, father tickles the hand, nuzzles the foot and does what he can to rouse his daughter.  This prompts a short revival.

But soon the little newborn, with eyes closed and arms flailing blindly with all their poorly coordinated might is fighting daddy, pushing the bottle away.  With some consternation, he manages to keep the nipple in her mouth.  She is still wailing, but does not remember why.  A little distraction by daddy causes her to forget the crying and the link is finally severed. Suddenly she is tender and mild, draining the sustenance vigorously.

She wonders why daddy would ever do such a cruel thing and hide the milk from her. Why would he hold her arms from getting that milk she wanted all along?  I imagine that when she is old enough to eat solid food, the question will have vanished into the advent of a new perspective.

Perhaps the inexperienced father has misread the signs. I am not deterred. There's a greater lesson. It is about the death and resuscitation of children, adults and entire nations.  It must be remembered and retaught; or our newborns will give us an inevitable, untimely and terrible re-education.