A question was posed to me and caused me to wonder. The question asked was, “Does God play?” Have you ever pictured what “play” would look like to God? Honestly, the thought of God playing brings a certain level of joy to my heart. Maybe it’s the boy inside of me. Now, I know humanity falls short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but I also know that God didn’t ditch us. He still wants to interact, to connect, even — dare I say — to play. I know God enjoys this wonderful, though broken, world. I know He doesn’t hate us or this broken world but quite the opposite: He gave His life for the purpose of redeeming our lives. Out of the deep, boundless love for us, He reached down and rescued us from certain death (John 3:16). God offers us new birth if only we turn and face God in a personal way and come to Him like a child, totally trusting Him with all our heart, soul and body.
In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus explains this to one of the prominent religious leaders of the time. Jesus exclaimed, “You must be born again. You must be born of the Spirit.” So, when we are “born again” in a spiritual sense, we begin the journey as a child of God. All things become new as we start out as infants and move towards maturity. Along the journey, there will be exhilaration; there will be times of wandering in the wilderness; there will be times when you will see this invisible God at work. Sometimes also He works in the background without your knowledge. This journey is what some Christian circles would call “Spiritual Formation.” Growing in the understanding and knowledge of the One True God.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18:2-4, Jesus proclaimed that we must become like children or we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
“And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
What does this mean?
From my fifty plus years of walking the spiritual journey, there are times I saw God’s beauty. My eyes got wide, and my heartrate accelerated. My palms got sweaty just like the time I proposed to my wife. Excitement of starting a new journey, yet apprehensive of what the future might bring. Can I fullfill my wedding vows till death do us part? But you know what? My wife has stood by my side through the thick and thin just like I know God has never left me either on every step of my spiritual journey. My wife and I are continuing to walk our spiritual journeys in this kingdom of heaven.
When I turned my life over to God as a young boy, I knew the kingdom of heaven was near. It was time for the boy inside of me to trust the good and beautiful God and fall in love with the “play.” For my time devoted to play also brings forth life, and living life with those you love and those who love you never gets old.
“What we play is life.” – Louis Armstrong
Below is a song written by Rich Mullins on wondering what Jesus was like as a boy.
One of my favorite songs.
Discussions to make God known 