Age of Innocence

AGE OF INNOCENCE 
We were chosen by God to live our lives in a state of innocence before him.
Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be set apart for him (holy) and blameless before him, In love.

Our English word ‘innocence’ comes from the Latin word IN-NOCERE – not to harm, blameless, and also means not harmed or violated – a sort of spotlessness. 
There is also the Biblical Greek word akeraios; of pure motivation – KJV blameless and harmless also 'unharmed,'. 'Intact,' 'innocent.

Where do we find this innocence? In our natural lives it is our early childhood experience. And today I will discuss the spiritual reality of our innocence in the eyes of God.

Let us look at those years of early childhood, up to about the age of seven. Here is where it is required that we receive unconditional attention and love from our parents, but we must keep in mind that there are no perfect parents.  
This is the requirement because we have not yet learned to manage our way through this world of accountability for doing wrong, or developed any resolute commitment for doing what is right. This period of time is our age of innocence where we start to become obedient and cooperative and be spontaneous and even be annoying, but it is here where we do get heaps of mercy and forgiveness and at the same time become aware of consequences for breaking the rules, as there are rules and we accept these rules as being authentic because we trust our parents that they know how life works, and for the most part we are patiently nurtured through this formative time. This is the same in most cultures. And of course, so much depends upon the relational integrity and empathy of the parents. Some parents and especially some cultures are more aware of this requirement and even formalise it up to about age seven.IE the Japanese culture.
I experienced this when I ministered in evangelical churches in Tokyo and the kids ran around and played right through the church service and everyone was smiling, even me after a little while. One of the mothers explained that this is the way it is with children up to about age six or seven- and then they really get into the discipline – for the rest of their lives.

Going back to the opening Scripture - This was the destined state of our life experience from eternity from God as our Father.
That word blameless (innocent) becomes a way of life as a grown responsible adult when we discover by faith that we have been given that status through Jesus. He has won back that place of innocence for us that we fell from when Adam disregarded his place of oneness and trust in his Father God by disobeying him. Adam and Eve were charged with the responsibility of being obedient to the commandment about not eatig from that tree of knowledge. They then suffered the consequences of guilt and shame and the disintegration of their souls and they hid from a loving God. And so did all of us.
Then Jesus, the second Adam, or last Adam, lived a complete and sacrificial innocent life before God on our behalf. He sowed that innocent life as a seed into death, and then the seed germinated and his life sprung to life in the earth through the Holy Spirit,who was sent after his death and resurrection and ascension into Heaven.
Paul tells us that we can now live our lives out from that state of bestowed innocence. 

Philippians 2:15 … that you may be blameless and innocent (akeraios; of pure motivation – KJV harmless also 'unharmed,'. 'Intact,' 'innocent.), children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Jesus explained this state of innocence by using the innocence of children to show us what it meant to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. If you receive these you receive me!’
Matthew 19: Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” 
The Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus spoke about is the relational framework of the unconditional love that we receive from our Heavenly Father, just as a perfect parent would bestow that unconditional love and attention upon a little child. The Kingdom of Heaven is not just a destination of going to Heaven one day – it is a state of relationship with God and with one another here and now on earth. We enter into this childlike trusting place through faith.

Why do we lose this lovely freedom and sense of innocence after our early childhood.
It is after these first seven years that we learn to devise our own ways of getting the love and attention we want. We suffer from the clumsy attempts at trying to earn or demand that unconditional love and attention and we get hurt by others who also want the same thing. Unconditional becomes harder and harder to find – hurt people hurt people. We can only find the unconditional loving attention by becoming as a little child and entering the Kingdom of God, which is the relational framework of unconditional love that makes us whole – that is the saving of our soul. 

This integrates all of our pain from our past and our anxiety about the future into the place of oneness and communion with God. 
Discovery is the act of faith that allows us to dwell in the unconditional love of God towards us that is God’s framework of relationship towards us from eternity. This is where we experience the wholeness of our soul in our mind and in our emotions because we are joined in oneness of spirit with God’s Spirit.  

This is entering the kingdom of God. It is living another kind of life.
It is called in the bible ‘living in newness of life’. It is another world. It is becoming as an innocent child as Jesus said we should do.

His righteousness – His innocence
We are told many times (over 70 times) in the epistles that we have the righteousness of Christ. I believe we are also told that we have the innocence of Christ. I found that the Greek word for righteous (dikaios) is also translated innocent. 
g1342. ??????? dikaios; from 1349; equitable (in character or act); just, right(-eous). innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively): — 
Many people find it difficult to see themselves as ‘righteous’ before God in Christ even though that is the profound truth of being in ‘right standing’ with God because of what Jesus did for us. However the picture that many people get is that ‘righteous’ only applies when we do everything ‘right’, and can end up making us feel we are falling far too short of the mark that we can never believe it. 
Having the innocence of Christ gives us a picture of receiving unconditional care and attention from a loving Father God.  He sees our still imperfect falling short, but also sees the yielded trusting heart of a child that is growing more and more responsible for cooperating with our loving Father and desiring more and more to please him. This is something we can believe in and confidently aim for and hit the mark.
This act of faith allows our innocent self to now ‘act out’ the peaceful life of being unconditionally loved. The word ‘peace - eirene’  means oneness - oneness with God, the source of our being. So we come to him confidently and wholeheartedly trusting in his powerful work of renewal within us. Everything that has been put out of place in our disintegrated souls is put back in its right place. Everything becomes integrated into our shared life with God as we bring ourselves into that place of abiding in him. 

This yielding response can be practised till it is entered into without struggle. We set aside time to be mindful of our oneness with God, and of the continual flow of his Spirit to us and through us that touches everything within us and in our world around us with transformation and renewal.  We learn that when life makes us feel ‘upset’ we are being ‘setup’ (Up-set = set-up) to spiritually enter the innocence that Jesus spoke of when he said ‘let the little children come unto me’… 

We are also fulfilling the prayer of ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven because we are causally connected to God in the outworking of this as co laborers , participating with God in his Kingdom in action here on earth.

Carrying this presence as a reality of faith in our life changes the people and the circumstances in our world that is around us. We are not trying to change it, because we can’t. God can and God does and we are co-workers with him. 
This is living life ‘on purpose’ – it is The purpose.