The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.
Approaching your relationship with God from a playful perspective might have some lessons to help us in our understanding of who God is and who He made us to be. As adults many of us define ourselves in relation to our work or our families. Work fades with time and family dynamics change. However we can all enjoy ‘being playful’ and playing for as long as our life lasts. What do we consider playful? There is no one definition! For the sake of ease let us say we enjoy playing with Lego because:
-we are immersed in the present moment and time passes quickly, we enjoy what we are doing
-we constantly learn new ways to manipulate the pieces to build new things, it challenges us
-our creations surprise us
-we respond with joy to our creations
-we enjoy co-creating with others but can also enjoy creating by ourselves
Why not apply the same principles of our hobbies that invoke playful aspects in our characters to our relationships with God?
Reflections:
What new connections are we constantly making about God through His word, nature and our lived experiences?
How does God playfully surprise us each day through His word, work, family or friends?
What are the times of the day we want to linger in most? How can we connect those feelings of lingering and longing to our relationship with God?
Play is interwoven with creativity, fun, non-coercion and socialization. I encourage you to reflect on how these elements connect to our spiritual relationship with God. When we were children it was a great part of the day to play with our friends and ‘hang out with them’, making new memories and enjoying new adventures. God wants us to come on a forever ‘play date’ with Him and wants to restore our world. Our world is the play space He created for us to enjoy with Him. Do we want to ‘hang’ out with God and if not why not? He sure wants to show us His playful side.
Christine G.
(Hill Ave Women's Ministry Leader)