Childlike . . .

I heard this amazing, yet heart-wrenching story of an artist named John Sarkin. John was a successful chiropractic doctor who had suffered a stroke on the golf course. He’s given up his practice and now given himself fully to creating wonderful drawings and paintings.

John’s stroke has left his mind in a state where it is quite literal. He admits, and his family can confirm, that his mind is very childlike. It becomes very apparent in his artwork. The shapes, the colors, the freedom to express. You just don’t see that in every day art.

What’s so heart-wrenching about it? John really is more like a child. His attention span is incredibly short. His actions are literal. He sees the world through a much more naive lens.

But you can see such freedom in his artwork.

It makes me wonder how we are to capture this idea of a “childlike faith.” Children have such few limitations. They are free to envision God with no boundaries (like He truly is). Their faith can comprehend and defeat any situation (like it truly can). Their innocence can see and experience the world through a clean lens (as God intended).

Being a child means having a reckless abandon. Who cares who is watching? You are free to express yourself how you need to express yourself. I think of King David dancing in the street, and everyone telling him that is no way for a king to act. He was excited. He expressed it.

When did we start stifling the our feelings so much that it becomes inappropriate to shout for joy? Our great God deserves that kind of expression.

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