You’ve probably heard J.M. Barrie’s fairy origin story in the book Peter Pan: “When the very first baby laughed for the very first time, the sound broke into a million tiny pieces which became fairies.”
Hearing a baby laugh is a magical sound, and it is no wonder that joy gives birth to whimsy. Despite what they believe about fairies, everyone smiles when a baby laughs.
This week, I spoke with several Christians who are just babies in the faith. They haven’t been following Jesus long, but their exuberant joy at His presence and provision brought me something much more real than a fairy tale.
One young man was explaining how he never liked to sing until he heard a hymn. Then, he read that Christians should be “singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” Now, his love for praising Jesus is contagious.
An older man recently lost a relative, but at church, he looked around and said, “I feel better when I am around these people.” He went on to detail the overwhelming loneliness at home as compared to the peace and assurance he felt when he worships together with brothers and sisters in Christ.
Another young man, a high school student, expressed anger after his team lost an important game. Fist clenched, he wished to be able to vent his frustration. Instead, he knelt beside his teammates and prayed. He stood from his knees and smiled. “The Lord is good,” he said.
A middle-aged woman with a terminal diagnosis shared her thankfulness that Jesus walks beside us even in the valley of the shadow of death. “He is helping me live each day, one day at a time,” she said.
If I practiced what these baby Christians are preaching, hymns of praise would fill my mouth- and my mind. I would exult in the fellowship I find at church. My emotions would be tamed by the Lion of Judah, and I would learn to count all my days as His.
Instead of producing fairies, the laughter of these joyous new believers is proof of their new life in Christ.
A friend recently gifted my son several caterpillars. What joy to watch them spin their chrysalises! What miraculous wonder when the butterflies emerged! My son shouted and jumped up and down and held them triumphantly on his finger. When they were strong enough, the butterflies leapt into flight, and we laughed together as they fluttered into the blue sky.
New life brings more than just a fairy tale.
Jesus quoted the Psalmist to those who wanted to silence the laughter and praise of small children: “‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have ordained praise.’”
The peals of laughing praise ringing from the mouths of baby Christians brings joy. Find a new believer and ask them what the Lord is teaching them, and let it remind you that the new life you have in Christ can never grow old.
