God Wants You to Play

Most adults have grown up too much.

Many Christians have become responsible, boring, self-reliant adults that have forgotten the best part of the gospel: God is your Father, you are his beloved child, and you’ve been given a new life of childlike freedom and play.

I believe play is central to the Christian life, the central mark of one’s childlike trust in God. You can hear me unpack this argument in my sermon from last Sunday: God Wants You to Play. This was the final sermon in our series on children, a sermon on Zechariah 8:3-8, which includes one of my life verses: “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” -Zechariah 8:5.

“The true object of all human life is play.” - G.K. Chesterton

“Play is the essential and ultimate form of relationship with God. A playful attitude lies at the heart of all spirituality and is critical for the whole of life.” -Brian Edgar

“And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’” -Mark 10:13-15

In addition to my sermon, here are some other recommended resources on play:

• My favorite book on play: The God Who Plays: A Playful Approach to Theology and Spirituality, by Brian Edgar.

• A helpful secular book on the value and science of play: Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart Brown.

After Sunday, many people told me they’d never before heard a sermon on play or on Jesus’ call to childlike faith, freedom, and dependency. This should not be the case. May we, self-reliant adults, come alive to what the Bible teaches about play.