All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. (Isaiah 54:13 ESV)
Pretty much every item made by human beings has a tag or a label or something on it that tells who made it.
My watch says “Casio” on it, the microwave next to the Kenmore stove is a Sharp, and the refrigerator is a Magic Chef. (I have no evidence of this last machine ever performing any sort of magic whatsoever.)
So, do we bear the name of our Creator on our souls?
I recently came across a mention of a study called, “Hardwired to Connect” in a book by Chuck Colson called “The Faith.”
When I looked it up, I found the full name of the study was “Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities” It was conducted by the Commission on Children at Risk, a team of 33 pediatricians, research scientists, mental health specialists, and youth service professionals. The co-sponsors were Dartmouth Medical School, YMCA of the USA, and the Institute for American Values. The results were published in 2003.
What that study found was that human beings are, indeed, hardwired from birth to form relationships. And, it’s not just on a behavioral level. The study found physical effects on gene transcription and the development of brain circuitry. The very core of our biology and our chemistry drives us to form deep, nurturing, and lasting relationships with other human beings.
With good relationships, children are physically better able to cope with stress and to establish and maintain good and lasting relationships as adolescents and adults. Likewise, a lack of deep trusting relationships as a child was linked to higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, attention deficit, conduct disorders, thoughts of suicide, and other problems which are becoming more and more common in our society.
And, the study found that spiritual and religious development was actually good for children. The study found that across races and cultures, children are predisposed to seek out spiritual and moral meaning. Children who find it enjoy stronger immune systems, more positive attitudes about life, reduced risk of injury, less drug abuse, and a host of other benefits. (Given that information, isn’t it odd that so much effort is being expended by so many groups to free our children from religion?)
Yes, all of those appliances in my kitchen have their maker’s names on them and every one of them came with an Owner’s Manual, so the findings of Hardwired to Connect come as no surprise at all to those of us who have read the owner’s manual our Creator wrote.
Today’s Praise
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:16 ESV)