Recently we held a memorial service for a beloved father and grandfather. His son and daughter asked that their young children read the Scriptures for his service. I asked if the children were used to getting up in front of people, if they enjoyed reading out loud, and if their parents would go over the Scripture with them to make sure they understood what they were reading and could read it well. (I asked these questions because once we had a young reader stand up and say, “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” instead of “Yea, though I walk. . .” The 23rd Psalm is not usually a cause of giggles, but it was that day.)
When the day of the memorial service came, one of the grandchildren was so tiny we had to put her up on a stool to reach the microphone. She read in her crystal-clear child’s voice, the words of 2nd Corinthians 5:6-9, shown above. As I listened, I wondered if she understood it, and then I began to wonder if I even understood or lived this Scripture myself! After all, it says that we walk by faith, not by sight. A child can walk by faith knowing there are many things she does not yet understand while adults might believe that in their maturity they see all and don’t need to walk in faith any more.
In the Scripture above, Isaiah foresees there will come a time when nature is at peace with itself and humankind at peace with God. In that time, strangely, a little child will lead them. Certainly a little child’s reading led me to hear the Scripture all over again and opened to me a different understanding because she was leading me.
We don’t have to have a complete and perfect understanding of our faith to walk by that faith and not by sight. We simply have to trust, as children do, that our Father in heaven will lead us safely on, believing that as we walk with Him, the shadows will lift and our trust and understanding will grow.