4369. 'Inasmuch as I have seen your face, as though seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me' means the affection itself within that perception by which it was instilled reciprocally. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing a face, as though seeing the face of God' as affection within perception, for 'the face' means things that are interior, 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, and 'the face of God' all good, 222, 223, which, when it flows in, imparts affection within perception; and from the meaning of 'accepting me' as instilled affection. It is evident from what has been stated immediately above about the instilling of affection, and so from the sequence of thought, that instilled affection is meant.

A child is a young boy or girl in the care of parents, older than a suckling or an infant, but not yet an adolescent. "Children" are sometimes used as a name for a large group of descendants of one person, such as the Children of Israel, or even all human beings as the Children of Men. A child represents innocence and charity, where innocence is the willingness to be led, and charity is love. This is why Jesus blessed them and suggested that we all become like children in order to enter heaven.