Little Hellions (Or, You Reap What You Sow)

Under the traditional doctrine of Original Sin, the first thing we proclaim to and about a child is that this child is a child of the devil, lost and evil, separated from wholeness and deserving of hell. What a horrible seed to plant! Yet we act surprised when that seed grows and produces its fruit! Here is how evangelical superstar John MacArthur sees babies: “There is no evil of which they are incapable,” he states. “The depravity that lives in their hearts is just waiting for the opportunity to express itself.” Calvinist Paul Washer described the first cries of his own newborn baby as screaming out, “Lost! Lost!” Washer proclaims that children are “evil from a babe” and that “an 18-month-old baby, if he had the strength, would slaughter you there where you stand and rip the watch off your arm and walk across your bloody body and out the door without feeling an ounce of remorse.” This is the doctrine of Original Sin, the seed tradition plants in children from birth.

But what would happen if we planted the seed of Original Blessing? What if our first proclamation to and about our children is, “You are a child of God! You are blessed and a blessing!”? Imagine the crops from that seed coming to fruition! It isn't God who curses our children and declares them to be separate from wholeness, it is we ourselves. Imagine an entire generation of children in whom is planted the seed of God's blessing! Such a generation could turn the world upside down.