Edward Hicks, a nineteenth century sign-maker, was fascinated with the vision of God’s future portrayed in Isaiah: Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid... He painted version after version of this prophetic image which he entitled “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Sixty-two of these paintings still exist. Hicks understood Isaiah as holding up for us hope in the new thing God is doing. We aren’t trapped on the treadmill of life — even though it can feel that way in the middle of a pandemic. No, God continues to bring about a more just and peaceful world. The “childlike” get this possibility, in Jesus’ saying, because they are open to being surprised by God.
