At baptism, G.K. Chesterton must have received an irregularly large outpouring of the Spirit of Wonder and Awe. Either that, or that gift of the Spirit, nurtured by his artistic upbringing, grew to fill the irregular size of the man himself. He saw very clearly that baptism isn’t intended to make one a man so much as it is intended to make one a child. For a child, he says, lives in the wonder of the given reality while a man tends to live in the small and ultimately unsatisfying fantasy world he has created for himself.
The tendency of our pride, in this and every age, has been to overcomplicate the world, make God an enemy of human flourishing, and focus in on ourselves as the “true” masters of the universe. Chesterton’s writings effortlessly untangle our false and self-centered philosophies with humor and humility. They allow us, once again, to see the world for the majestic and beautiful and hilarious thing that it is, designed in its entirety as an exuberant wedding gift from a God who is Love.
Reading anything by Chesterton causes something to “click” inside of us, and we hope it has the same effect on you. We have found him to be like a spiritual chiropractor, realigning us and opening us in a receptive posture to God and to the world around us. He causes us to sit up straight and laugh heartily at ourselves, lest we take ourselves too seriously and die of that ancient, stooping pride.
G.K. Chesterton stood out in his time, not only for his unusual stature, but for his unusual ability to delight in the ordinary, the reality that confronted him each and every day. It is this Spirit that we also seek, for we desire the childlike faith necessary to live in the joy of heaven, not only at the end of our lives, but in the ordinary circumstances of the here and now.
Great first podcast Grace an Marie!
Right from the get go I was hooked.
Looking forward to your insights into GK. He was a master of words and joy.
Let’s dance in the rain.
Hark! GK, Marie, and Grace
All is alive now!
Thank you and God Bless!
“Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” GK, Orthodoxy
Thanks for your support, Mo! Love the haiku! 😄