“Jesus pushed the playfulness envelope further than anyone. He said that we can’t enter the kingdom of heaven unless we become like little children, and part of becoming like little children is recapturing what they are best at — playfulness.”- Mark Batterson
“There is the sea, vast and spacious, / teeming with creatures beyond number — / living things both large and small. / There the ships go to and fro, / and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.”- Psalm 104:25-26 (NIV)
As Mark Batterson moves on in Chapter 2 of A Million Little Miracles, he states that one of his favorite words is neoteny. A zoological term, neoteny refers to retaining youthful qualities into adulthood. Qualities such as curiosity, playfulness, eagerness, fearlessness, warmth, and energy. Most significantly, Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss once quipped: “Adults are obsolete children.”
Furthermore, as Dallas Willard once observed, we consider people who make lightbulbs, computer chips, and rockets as very smart. But they create those things out of stuff already provided. God, on the other hand, made the stuff — ex nihilo, out of nothing.
Above all, Mark stresses, God takes joy in our enjoyment. Because it serves as a reflection of His personality — a trait we greatly underestimate. As C. S. Lewis wrote in Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer:
“Joy is the serious business of heaven.”
In addition, Mark expresses his amazement at the mechanism of miracles — the how. However, he counsels, we must be careful not to miss the why. For example, when Jesus changed the water into wine at the wedding at Cana, Mark pictures Jesus doing so to enable the laughing and celebration to continue.
Certainly, Pastor Batterson notes, we need not view God as a killjoy. Because, simply put, God is pure joy!
In conclusion, Dallas Willard adds these thoughts from his book Divine Conspiracy:
“God leads a very interesting life. Undoubtedly, he is the most joyous being in the universe. All of the good and beautiful things from which we occasionally drink tiny droplets of soul-exhilarating joy, God continuously experiences in all their breadth and depth.”
Today’s question: When do you tend to push the playfulness envelope? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: ” A divine decree – pleasure”