Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.

• Psalm 8:2

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

• Matthew 18:2-5

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents in court.

• Psalm 127:3-5

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

• Mark 10:13-16

The New Boilerplate

My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover.  It was hidden with a box of crafting things.  On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these.  But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes.  So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while.  And it will be fun for me.  She did not attribute any of the quotes.  The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20^th president of the USA.  The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire.  After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.

Her quote

“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.”

• Aldus Huxley

The Discussion

Aldus Huxley (1894-1963) was an English writer and philosopher.  His most famous book is Brave New World, a dystopian novel about a new world where citizens are environmentally engineered.

His death occurred on the same day as the death of C.S. Lewis and John F. Kennedy.  JFK’s assassination dominated the headlines, but Peter Kreeft wrote a book on the three noted authors having a conversation in purgatory on their way to Heaven or Hell.  It is mostly a fictional conversation, or more of a philosophical debate by the three on Jesus Christ, His nature and His identity.  I have never read the book, but Huxley was an agnostic, so how could he have a point of view on the subject?  Besides, purgatory does not exist.

But it is strange that he makes this quote.  When it comes to the enthusiasm and the wide-eyed wonder of a child thinking of God, Huxley lost that early on.  He came by his agnosticism from his grandfather Thomas Henry Huxley, who was often called Darwin’s bulldog.

Jesus spoke often about the faith of a child.  When we bring a child up in a knowledge of God, the child has a good chance to find God, but that is not a guarantee.  If God does not get from the child’s head to his heart, all the knowledge of the world does the child no good.

We teach the Bible stories, but do they know the deep meaning in those stories?  Many times, they are too young to understand.

But the Huxley quote is about that wide-eyed enthusiasm that children have.  They learn all they can from those whom they trust and admire.  They are sponges ready to soak everything up.

But then, they reach the point where they think they have it figured out.  At that point, it becomes very hard to reach them.  They have lost that youthful enthusiasm.

For the young people out there, keep the fires burning in your soul.  Never quench the passion to learn more, especially learning more about Jesus.

And for you older folk, if you have lost that fire to learn more about anything.  Do not carry buckets of water to quench the fire in others.

And I am not talking about the young and the old.  I am talking about those who have a young or old spirit.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory