If you ask me, babies are just about the cutest things out
there. Their fingers, toes, lips and eyes are all miniature portions of us
grimy adults. Their little bodies still fresh and without blemish from the
elements of the world. I have had the joy of getting to know two little babies
recently, twins of a friend of mine. These two are no exception to the cute
baby rule, their fingers and toes, lips and eyes are perfect. But my two new
friends were a little early coming into this world; so excited to make an
entrance that they had to spend some time in the hospital sleeping and eating
in incubators.
Like all infants, these two were fed milk, with much time
before any type of solid food would touch their lips. But besides their diet,
there were many other precautionary measures taken toward ensuring their
health. There were oxygen tubes, heart rate monitors, incubators, and many
checks and tests by nurses and doctors. These two were examined multiple times
a day with each step in growth monitored and applauded. One thing that is so
wonderful and magical about babies is that their growth is hard to miss. These
two little girls went from 3 to 4 pounds in about a week with the progress
clearly noticeable. With cheeks filling out, multiple chins forming, and their
bellies rounding, these two were shedding the equipment examining their every
move. Soon enough my two friends were free of tubes and ready to be moved from
the incubator. As I celebrate this day of growth and freedom with them, I think
about their journey of a month in an incubator and our journey of just over a
month through Lent.
In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Paul speaks to a community which is
not yet ready for solid food. This community, freshly born is still focusing
their eyes, only able to see worldly things and not the spiritual. Someday,
Paul says, you will be able to receive the spiritual nourishment that I have
for you, but as of now you are still infants in the faith, quarreling, jealous,
and clinging to the ways of the world.
And years later here we are, eyes straining to God in our
midst, as we move between focus and
blurred vision of the things and people around us. In many ways, we Christians
are newly born, not yet ready to stand or function on our own, but at the same
time thrown right into this rough and tumble world full of jealousy and
quarreling. And so for our own good we need to be watched, monitored,
encouraged, and fed along the way. This holy season of Lent each year is our
time in an incubator, a time for examined growth and maturity. Instead of
monitors, oxygen, and periodic check-ups we are given the blessings of
confession, self-examination, and the ritual of fasting. Through these holy
acts we are nourished, cleansed, and encouraged until the day that we are
released from this incubator season, the same day we celebrate Christ rising
from the tomb. But in this season of Lent we are not yet to the resurrection
day, the day of hope and freedom and new life. So let us not rush to Easter too
quickly, but remain in this closely examined incubator season of Lent so we can
be ready to stand on our own, see Christ clearly in the world around us, grasp firmly
onto the things that are good, breathe in deeply the Spirit God, and share with
others the good news of new life. Through just over a month in our own
incubators, we will not be fully grown, but we will be ready for the world
around us, and ready to confront what the world has for us, for we have been
nourished by God.
Just the other day I was able to hold the two little girls
for the first time. While before I only saw them through the incubator and
stroked their tiny hands, this day I held their precious lives in my arms. Wrapped in blankets I could
feel their infant legs squirming, as muscle growth continues to develop. The
excitement of new life in my arms reminded me of the excitement and
unpredictability of new life in Christ, available to us each and every morning.
With just a few weeks of monitoring, feeding and examining these little girls
have grown leaps and bounds. And through these six weeks of Lent as my two new
friends continue to grow I am encouraged in my own journey of growth.
