Isaiah 6:9-10 talks about hearing and seeing but not understanding or perceiving, and it is true that the response to hearing and seeing can be vastly different. This was the case in Jesus’ lifetime, when opinion was so sharply divided about His words and actions (John 12:37) and remained true about Paul throughout the book of Acts (Acts 13:42-45, Acts 14:1-2, Acts 17:4-5, Acts 28:24). We may all see and hear the same thing, but our response to this will not be the same. Not all will understand or perceive spiritual truth.
My younger granddaughter has just started to walk to places rather than being transported in a pushchair. She is obviously much smaller than me, and her pace is very slow, but I find walking with her to be a revelation, opening up a world of understanding and perceiving. Alert to every sound, she often stops and asks about it. Her keen eyes spot daisies, buttercups and dandelions as we walk; she stops to pick them as an offering to this wonderful world of nature. Every puddle is jumped in, every twig investigated. “It’s a fishing rod!” she will announce, and we’re transported into the world of imagination as she fishes for leaves, happily stabbing fallen leaves with her new-found ‘rod’ and walking with it to prod and poke the delights she finds en route.
This kind of walk, slow though it may be in terms of reaching a destination, reminds me of Isaiah’s words. Sometimes we need to slow down and see again what the world looks like from a child’s vantage point. We need to slow down to hear God’s words, to meditate on His actions, to ponder, reflect, delight.
The two-year gap between sisters shows me many things. Her older sister is now running ahead on these walks, already impatient to reach her destination. Most of us soon learn to run on, to walk without seeing the wild flowers except as weeds, dodging puddles as an inconvenience, not a delight. I prefer the toddler’s approach. I feel it’s an aid to understanding and perceiving.
