“Five Minutes Old”

Sunday, June 15, 2025

NT WRIGHT, a well-known Bible scholar and author was once asked following a lengthy and deep lecture to a group of university students, “How old does a child need to be before they can begin understanding the love of God and His divine nature?”

NT paused but only for a second, “Well I suppose perhaps five minutes old”. You could see in the eyes of the interviewer, and you could sense from the audience the astonishment and surprise at this unexpected answer.

“You see”, NT continued, “A child should experience the love of God the minute they’re held in the arms of their parents.” This is God’s divine nature and His plan for every child.

I have to be transparent, honest about my first reaction to this question. My mind was anticipating some exposition from scripture on the “age-of-accountability”. But accountability with and this understanding of God’s nature and love begins from the moment a newborn breathes. A loving home, safe, stable and provided for by their mother and father.

This picture shows a father, loving his newborn adopted daughter. He isn’t the biological father of this child, but he and his wife became her father and mother and provided a home she did not have available to her. All adoptions start in a dark place…including ours.

I can still remember shortly after my own baptism, living in a rather dysfunctional home and without a good relationship with my father and reading verses such as, “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You,  our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8. And then finding so many more statements and reminders of this Father and child relationship, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! “ 1 John 3:1. Then of course there is “The Lord’s Prayer” which begins, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:9-11

These and hundreds of others [15 in the OT] God is referred to as “Father”. This is a powerful, meaningful and personal metaphor that creates many varied applications, examples and insights into our relationship with the Creator, God Almighty and His Son Jesus our Lord and Savior. It was all of these for me many years ago when I came to realize the significance that while my connections to an earthly father was weak the connection to my heavenly Father was deep, real and everlasting, just as Paul said, “³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

By faith, with trust and obedience this cornerstone is laid in God’s foundation for life. The significance of this cannot be overstated.

Over the years, this “epiphany” story has been told many times to teens, young men and women, even those later in life who still struggle with the loss, pain and the consequences of having no father, an absent father or an abusive father relationship. God CAN BE and IS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

Luke records a tender yet powerful reminder of our Fathers care, “¹¹ If a son asks for ^[e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:11-13

A recent survey found that seventy-two percent of Americans believe that fatherlessness in our country is the most significant challenge to our families and society at large. We need and God expects us to be strong, loving, nurturing fathers, “⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

We should always honor, respect and expect men to be good fathers.

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