Do They 'Not' Know?

When I baptize babies at our church, I say this French Liturgy to them. The parents, usually the father, holds the baby and I look at the child and speak directly to him, saying,

Address to Child:

Calvin James, for you Jesus Christ has come,

He has fought, He has suffered.

For you He entered into the shadows of Gethsemane and the terror of Calvary; for you He uttered the cry “it is finished.”  

For you He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and there for you He intercedes.  

He did this for you, Calvin James, even though you do not yet know it .

And in this way the Word of the Gospel is made true, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

This address to the child is particularly touching. The children most often open their eyes and look directly at me and pay attention. This is the case, even if the child is only a few weeks or a few months old.

When I say, "He did this for you, little child, even though you do not yet know it", I sometimes get the distinct feeling that the little child does, in fact, know it. I am not hanging my theological hat on this nor trying to prove this from some text of Scripture. But after having baptized 140 or so children, many of them little tiny infants, I am convinced that there is a great deal of 'knowing' of God's presence, if not His person, that is going on before, at, and after baptism. 

When Jesus blesses the little infants, they really are blessed.