Last Tuesday morning our ninth grandchild was born to our youngest daughter, sheer delight, right. Beatrix June 7lbs 10oz, and very fun she has a big sister who shares my mother’s first name, Margie, and she is a little over 2 years old. Last night I went to my daughter’s house to visit and as you may imagine, Margie was so excited to have Grandma and Papa to share in her new world with a little sister. Margie was very, very, playful, seems we looked at every toy or doll she had, then we got on the couch with my daughter and baby sister. Naturally Margie got between me and her mother. She started to beat me with a pink baby blanket, then she would throw it over my head and scream and shriek with delight, this went on for quite a while before dinner and after dinner when she was to go to bed she started up again this time included with the shrieks of delight when she would have my head covered she would press in and scream in my ear, (I’m pretty sure as loud as she could in my ear, (with my hearing aid by the way), “PAPA, WHERE ARE YOU!!”. Then she would shriek and laugh with so much delight, I will never forget it, certainly a moment to treasure.

Later on our way home, I got to thinking about playing with Margie and how amazing it was and I asked my wife, Tammy, “do you think God wants to play with us like that?”

So for whatever reason God woke me up about 1:30 the next morning, I began to pray as is my normal routine, (even for me this was early). As usual I began to thank him for what happened the day before, and as I was thanking Him for the amazing experience with, Margie, I recalled the question and I ask Him/Jesus, “God would you like to play with me like that?”. Immediately the loudest most amazing thunderstorm. Loud but up high in the sky not strikes that would scare me, It almost sounded like he was bowling. No doubt Jesus was answering my question, but here is the most playful part, He then slipped into my spirit with one very, very loud THUNDER BOWLING EPISODE, “PAPA WHERE ARE YOU!!!”

All creation speaks of God’s playfulness when you have eyes to see it, every dog with a ball or a stick, otters, clearly. All baby animals from kittens to Lions, from lizards to Alligators, there are some amazing videos on YouTube of animals playing. Clearly comes from the heart of God.

The scriptures do as well, if you really think about it, who was the man after God’s own heart, David, right. Who Played before the lord. 2 Samuel 6:16

And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

That word translated danced could be translated, “whirl”. David certainly played all sorts of instruments as well. A big part of the way he worshiped came from a childlike heart.

His son Solomon in proverbs describing Wisdom/Jesus in Proverbs 8:30-31

“Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”

The Hebrew word translated rejoicing here is related to sachaq. There is a picture of delight, celebration, Play, and joyful companionship in creation.

Zechariah 8:5

“And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.”

Here again in Zechariah 8:5 we find the same word for play, sachaq. Or the Leviathan in Psalms 104:26

“There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”

What about Jesus’ playfulness, once you see, you can’t unsee it. A Fish With A Coin in It’s Mouth. Your eye with a LOG in it… To the Fisherman – “Caught anything, Boys?”

Jesus describes children calling to one another in Matthew 11:16-19.

“We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.”

There is a playful, almost theatrical illustration here. Jesus uses the everyday games and interactions of children to expose the stubbornness of a generation that refuses to respond to either John the Baptist’s minimalism or Jesus’ fellowship.

So let’s play on today’s Christian Car Guy Show. Call in with your story of when God was playful with You, then we will measure it on the Christian Car Guy Play meter and send you a prize from the Kingdom Pursuits Prize Vault… Call 866-348-7884