This past Tuesday I was driving with my son Levi who was sitting in the back seat. He was doing the usual – playing with a toy car and kicking the seat in front of him, looking out the window and sighing with the boredom that comes with being three and riding in the car. Sometimes I would glance up just to see what he was doing and I could see he was thinking about something ‘very important’. Finally he said, “Daddy. I wish God would come out of my heart so I could play with Him.”
After I got the car back on the road and off of the grass, I asked Levi to repeat himself and he said it exactly the same, “I wish God would come out of my heart so I could play with Him.” It’s been two days since this happened and I’m still thinking about it this morning. Matthew 18: 1-4, Jesus pulls a child into the midst of the crowd and says unless we humble ourselves to be like this we will NEVER enter the kingdom of heaven. We should probably listen to the insights our children have about God more often.
Two things my son taught me that day…
First – he truly believes God is ‘in there.’ That God has taken up residence within him. He didn’t question it, there was no need for a study in apologetics or theology, Levi just knew, as most of our kids do. Jesus even tells us in the scriptures over and over He has set up a dwelling place in us. It is a reminder to us all that God is with us, intimately and powerfully with us.
The second and more powerful thing for me is how badly He wanted to play with God. To roll in the leaves or run cars up and down the back of the seat while making engine noises. Levi believes in a God who would want to spend casual time just playing with him. He believes that God not only loves him, but he likes him. I think he’s right. Maybe the next time you are raking the leaves, cutting the grass, shopping, shooting a round of golf, hunting or just sitting with a book, you invite God to come out and play.
(This post was written for Facebook in August 2010) Of all the mornings(Levi got up at 5 and I had a 7am meeting)… I read a post from John Piper on Twitter that says to control our anger begin by getting 8 hours of sleep 3 nights in a row(tell that to my boys)! I have noticed that self-control in all areas of our lives can spin out of control when we are tired and not properly sleeping. I find that to be true in so many instances of my life…devotion, prayer, eating habits, sin. God designed us to be able to withstand a lot, but He created us to fall asleep, heal and grow, repair and restore through the night so we can be a benefit to His Kingdom come morning. So trust God as you sleep…He is caring for His children even while they slumber. Check out this Psalm and GET SOME REST!
