Introduction

          A few nights ago I couldn't sleep so as usual when I can't sleep I opened up a Word document and just start typing. These "papers", for lack of better term, never followed any kind of format or had any relation to my other "papers". They usually start coherent but became much less so as I continued to write and usually involved way too much dead-pan humor for their own good. Anyways I was up typing again this particular night when I had the brilliant idea to start a blog to fill with my thoughts and my life. This all went hunky-dory until, while creating the blog, I was required to give a name to my blog. Now I realize that probably no one will ever read this blog but it helps to pretend I have an audience sometime. This concept of putting a simple name to everything in my head was hard indeed; I had the option to make it something humorous, but then I would end up wanting to change it on a daily basis. No, this had to be a name that meant more than just a few letters scrunched together to form words. It had to actually mean something. This frustrated me so I simply walked away from my computer for a long while and didn't use it again for days.

          Eventually a few nights later I turned on my computer, which had been on sleep mode, and saw once again the prompt for a name. It didn't bother me this time as much  since I didn't power-up my laptop with the intent to resolve it. I just simply got on facebook and started to scroll down my news feed for a while until I simply couldn't anymore. I usually get upset while on facebook but this night was particularly bad. Over half of the non-status posts were of some random girl taking another less-than-modest picture of themselves posing with some duck face. This always upsets me because every girl has so much more to offer to the world than posing for some inappropriate cell phone picture. God has so much more to offer these girls then this life of social self-abuse they feel is necessary. I also noticed how many friends I have who had posted about getting wasted or doing some new kind of drug. This is what our so-called civilized society calls good.... WHAT? This is good? Pain is joy? Sorrow is abundant happiness? I think not. This society simply lacks innocence and purity and no one can deny it . So where is it? Where did this innocence go? Can we as humans say we ever really had any true innocence or purity? I would say yes.

          In my church I have worked with children in our AWANA program for years and I can definitely say that there is a distinct level of child-like wonder, faith, and innocence in these children that is not present in older crowds. So should we just all pull a Peter Pan and never grow up? Is it better to just die young so we never become corrupted by this evil impure world? The obvious place to look for answers (for me anyways) when faced with hard questions is always the Bible.

        There are many times in the Bible that Jesus speaks of children. The most famous perhaps is Matthew 19:13-15. I won't quote the whole passage but the end of verse 14 states (regarding children), "the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this". Wow! Jesus just there put an outright statement that we should have the innocence of a child. At this point a lot of people turn away from Christianity because, even if they can't admit it to the outside world, they know deep down they lack the innocence they once had as a child. Fortunately for ALL people Christ died on the cross so we can permanently have that innocence again. It doesn't matter what you have done in life if Christ has the power to forgive it entirely. "If anyone is in Christ he is a NEW creation; the old things have passed away, and look, new things have come." - 2 Cor. 5:17. What does this mean for us humans exactly? What this honestly means is freedom in Christ. Freedom from who we were, and freedom from any kind of dark path we are currently headed towards. He loves us regardless of our past and through him we CAN have this innocence again. For me, at least, this is the most comforting thing. This give me peace in my most turbulent times. I have hope while at my lowest moments because through him I am made new. and that ladies and gentlemen is the best thing since man created fire, or hot dogs... maybe even better than both.... Actually yes, I would have to say it is better.