28/09/2022
Aren't These kiddies so adorable? Yet they're so dependent!
No doubt, more than anything else, it is the desire of everyone to attain a certain level of independence in life. This, among other factors, is the driving force behind our many hustles and hardwork in life.
A neonate (infant) is born completely dependent. He begins to grow with this feeling of assurance that whatever he needs will always be provided at his request. Hence he cries, kicks and even gets mad whenever he is denied his wish. His parents in love will always give him those things he needed and of course in wisdom, deny him those things that are not necessary. The bottom line however is that he is completely dependent.
Towards maturity, a child begins to loose this 'quality' of dependency, not necessarily because he is denied those things he needed, but because his mindset has changed. He has begun see himself of the same 'size' and stature with his parents whom he formally depended on. Hence he tells himself, 'I am of age, I have grown. I am not supposed to expect anything again from my parents. It is a humiliation to my person; they have tried their best for me after all.'
With this mindset the 'grown child' sets out and begins to fend for himself. Sometimes, he has this need he cannot meet for himself but he feels awkward whenever he thinks of resorting to his default setting - the dependency configuration. So he retreats, begins to solves the problem alone and either ends up in frustration, dejection or depression - a situation he could have avoided but for his pride and 'I am of age' mentality.
The above picture which is a sad state of every 'adult' portrays something spiritually; In creation, God's purpose in making man is wrapped up in dependency - He made man to be a dependent being! The day man's trouble began was the day he began to reason that he could lead an independent life. In fact, man's rebellion and sin was nothing but his movement to gain independence.
Yes! Independence is exhilarating. There is no feeling that could be as satisfying as the feeling of being free, and independence gives a taste of that feeling. But then, is independence the same thing as freedom? Think about that.
I want to establish a truth here - God made man a dependent being by default. A dependent being not on something else (parents, uncle, self, wisdom, etc), but a dependent being on God himself. 'But why?' You may ask. The reason is summerized in these three points;
1) In His sovereignty, he made all things as he desires and owes no man any explanation whatsoever as to why he made them so.
2) In His Wisdom; He understands that the best configuration that befits man is the dependent configuration and he knows that it is only in this configuration that man can fulfill His purpose.
3) In His Love, He does not want man to labour in vain. He knew everything man needed was in Him (God) and all that man needed to do was to (like a little child) look unto Him earnestly in trust and submission, and he'll 'have the desires of his heart.'
If God needed man to lead an independent life, he wouldn't have need to come down 'at the cool of the evening' to fellowship with Adam and Eve at Eden, there still wouldn't be need for Him to continue seeking man even after the fall. Hence He sort man's fellowship from Adam to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham until the coming of Christ because he knew that the man He made was created to live his life within the boundaries of the God that made him.
Even Christ himself when he was in the world was not the Lord of Himself. He was totally dependent on the Father that sent Him. He would always testify of himself, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." (Jn 5:30).
The truth is this; the word 'independence' is an illusion. Man is always dependent on something in his mind even when he tries to pretend otherwise. Sometimes, it could still be parents, or siblings, or relative, or human knowledge and ability, or past achievement, or praise of men and the likes. The list goes on and on.
These however has always failed and will always fail but like the scripture rightly said, 'They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.' (Psalms 125:1)
May we learn to put our trust completely in God
©Prosper O. Nwachukwu
