Ignorance, inability, failure and lack of comprehension, others' and our own, are often, and from early ages, judged harshly. In ourselves, perhaps that is because those are the qualities, and boundaries, of the selves we have outgrown, or would like to have outgrown. When we judge others, perhaps our insecurities are showing. In any case, from late childhood, people usually try to avoid ignorance, inability, failure, and incomprehension, or deny them.
I recently helped care for my step-grandson Jack. He was ten months old. He couldn't pull himself up to a standing position. But he kept trying. Reaching up and holding onto a coffee table, he'd pull himself up so his bottom was a half inch off the floor - and fall back. He'd try again, get his bottom an inch off the floor - and fall back. He kept trying and failing until he moved on to try something else.
Watching Jack that day, marveling at him, deepened my understanding of the biblical message that only by returning to childhood can one mature in matters of the spirit and enter and experience heaven. However smart, able and accomplished we may be in the physical world and in society, only by accepting our ignorance, inability, failure, and incomprehension — only by child-like innocence, curiosity, and perseverance — can we most fully experience spiritual growth.
