New Church Life January/February 2016 | Page 22

new church life: jan uary/february 2016 sun rose and set – basing this on their experience. When Galileo said it wasn’t so he was forced to recant his views. At first reason can’t rise above appearances and even illusions. So our lessons give examples of essential truths for which the young man or woman has contempt. All life is from the Lord. “Well,” says the growing rational, “what does that make me – chopped liver?” All good and truth come from the Lord. “Oh, come now! Then why do I try to be good. I’ll just wait for Him to do everything in me. But He doesn’t, so that isn’t true.” You mustn’t take credit for the good you do. “Of course I must. That’s why I do it.” The growing mind may not articulate it this way. It’s just that when a young person finds this power of reason in her mind she uses it in the realm where she is comfortable – with earthly experiences. So theoretical ideas seem meaningless and really irrelevant to her life. At the same time so does authority. Hagar’s contempt for Sarai reflects the rebelliousness of every generation against the wisdom of the past, and a wish to give birth to one’s own culture. Now all this sounds scary. But the true message of this story is that it is not. It is the only way that children can grow into adult life in this confused world. When the Lord creates their first rational faculty it is inevitable that it will be used in argumentative, sometimes aggressive, questioning ways. (And, by the way, very often the brunt of this misuse is Mom, who has been the mainstay of the growing mind until then.) The real message is: “Rejoice in this new power in your child, knowing that it is developing in the only way possible. It is the harbinger of true freedom and growth.” It is hard for parents who are dealing with rebellious teenagers or young people to relate to the need to “rejoice” in their growing rational power when it is used against them. But remember that Sarai didn’t let Hagar get away with her contemptuous behavior. She punished her. We must set boundaries, using the wisdom of the ages – the spiritual Sarai, revealed in the Lord’s Word. Does the growing mind respond well to those boundaries? Hagar ran away! A further rebellion. How often have we seen that kind of persistent rebellion? But once again there is comfort. For even if our children seem to be going in the wrong direction, they are not alone. Out there in the desert an angel of the Lord found Hagar and told her she was wrong, and she should go back, and be obedient. The angel of the Lord is a different quality in us that the Lord uses. Hagar’s contempt for Sarai reflects the rebelliousness of every generation against the wisdom of the past, and a wish to give birth to one’s own culture. 18