When Is Adulthood Lost to Infancy?

When? In the conception and birth of every child that comes into the world!

When an adult man and an adult woman come together and the resulting union produces, first a fetus and subsequently a new infant, the adulthood or maturity of the parents is lost to the child in that birth.

The mature life or adulthood that each of the parents had to possess to be able to form a new life, cannot be passed along to their newborn except as potential. Even though the parents can pass along their life, they cannot give their infant instant maturity. The knowledge and wisdom of the parents or their 'glory' is left behind in the parent when the infant is born.

This could be said to be a 'death' - a death to the 'glory' so that the life of the parents may be passed along. So the 'playing field' is equal as each new life comes into this world. We give our children life, but they in turn must now give this life a living. How? By growing up.

How this infant grows and matures and then chooses to invest his life energies, will determine what kind of adulthood s/he experiences. To be able to first crawl, walk, feed itself, become independant, and etc. - all the things that its parents were able to do when they gave it life, will have to be added back to the child through growth and development.

This is pictured for us when Jesus, who was in the form of God, left the glory of his Father to be born a human being. Since he is our Elder Brother, this is showing the path that we too have trod to take on form in this earthly dimension.

The scriptures draw this parallel for us in Phil. 2:

"Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. - Let Him be your example in humility -

Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fulness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained;

But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity] so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.

And after He had appeared in human form He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of [the] cross!

Therefore [because He stooped to low], God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,

That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee should (must) bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

And every tongue [frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

So when you read about the "death of Christ in the flesh", please realize that this has been pictured for us in the birth of every child. The life is passed on to the child, but the glory dies or is not passed on - this is a figure of Christ dying in the flesh.

In the beginning, God said, "Let us make man". God's orginal intention has been in the making for the past ages or eons, for not just the making of a natural man as we have been describing and using as an illustration, but his intention was for there to be a corporate Man, a Spritual Man in the earth that he could give dominion to.

The Life of God has been held hostage, so to speak, in every man when the man is still spiritually immature. This Life can be invested negatively to hate or murder or lie, cheat or steal or it can be used to bring love, joy and peace into this world.

We have had to learn about sin and death to experientially 'know all things'. And we have had to know and experience the consequences of our misdirected energy to understand how to choose again - how to make choices guided by love.

The Life of God in us is not created for it is of eternal essence. But mankind is the body that has been made to give a place for this Life to be birthed or demonstrated. Our flesh body is that creation that is groaning to be delivered from the bondage to decay and corruption and to gain our glorious freedom of God's grown up sons, demonstating a full salvation; body, soul and spirit! Rom 8

The "Grown-Up Son" becomes the Finisher of creation by becoming like his Grown-Up Author!

Ever had any growing pains? :)