go knock the kid off the slide and take your toy back

Mal McSwain and I were sitting in rocking chairs at Windy Gap. We were watching children play.   

“Eric, if you want to know what joy looks like. Go watch children play.”

So, I did. I paid attention to children playing. I paid more attention to watching my own kids play. And when I looked, I saw joy.

Go ask a child…

What are you stressed out about? They would respond, “What is stress?”

What are your long-term goals? “What is a goal?”

Show me your calendar? “What’s a calendar?”

What are you doing tomorrow? “Playing with my friends.”

What are you doing in an hour? “Playing.” (almost like, “what else is there?!”)

The point is, they are enjoying it. It…meaning life, the day, the opportunity…the moment. They are simply playing.

Mal told me, “Eric, have fun. Play more. Play with Jesus. Play with people. Enjoy it. Everything in ministry and the Christian life is not deadly serious all the time.”

Sometimes, I wonder…the older we get, the more responsible, mature, adult-like we become—the more complicated everything gets, it begs the question: “Have I forgotten how to simply play…to joyfully play…to enjoy Jesus, the calling, the people…?”

And I know, I know…I can hear some of your responses. I admit that every metaphor breaks down at some point. We all know that little children can be the best sin illustrations.

Once, I did see a little child push another little boy off the slide and yank the Thomas the Train Engine toy out of his hands, while the little boy laid in the sand sobbing uncontrollably.

But…go with me here…If the Thomas the Train Engine toy represented “JOY,” and you recognize it has been taken from you…and you want it back…then, and only then are you permitted to knock them off the slide, flat on their back, stand over them…reach down and take your JOY back.

Jesus told them, “If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must become like this little child.”