30 May 2008

The Eternal Appetite of Infancy

From G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy:

. . . it might be true that sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grow-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes daisies alike; it may be that God makes ever daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy, for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This has always been one of my favorite Chesterton quotes. It is one of those things I read and, instead of saying "why didn't I think of that?", I go "I would have never thought of that in a million years."

He was a big man -- in every sense of the word.

Anonymous said...

Chesterton has a gift that most writers could only dream about and fortunately the conviction, humility, and deep spirituality needed to make his words not only beautiful, but profoundly moving as well.

Thurman8er said...

A great quote from one of my favorite books. Every time I read something from it, I want to go back and start it all over again.

Dana M. said...

I love the image of a God who keeps making daisies over and over again because He's fascinated by how His human beings are impressed by that perpetual perfection.

Chesterton's way of describing God makes me smile the same way you do when someone you love walks into the room. That's a good smile.

preacherman said...

Great thoughts.
Thanks for sharing this with us Josh

Sunny said...

josh, I came across your you tube clip of the boy and the nun from the sisters of charity found in shane claiborne's talks. Do you know where I can get that clip? Is it from a documentary or DVD?

Thanks, a fellow pastor