On Cultivating a Childlike Faith: Play and Delight

Just as God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, we have a model for resting and delighting in his creation. God commanded us to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11), a day set aside for rest. But rest is not just the cessation of all work, it’s an invitation to spend time with God, spend time with the people we love, and engage in playful delight.

Children are the best models for this. They throw themselves into play, for the sheer delight of the activity, without any goal or product or outcome in mind. Young children are especially prone to delight, bringing us the ordinary treasures of a flowering weed or a smooth pebble in wide-eyed wonder.

As we grow older and juggle the demands of adult responsibilities, play and rest are easily lost by the wayside. In our culture of productivity and efficiency, engaging in play seems like a waste of time. Yet theologian Thomas Merton noted that we cannot attend to spiritual matters if we are constantly busy. Our church fathers recognized the importance of “holy leisure,” or what children would simply call “playing.”

June Mack Maffin, in her book Soulistry likened play to prayer: “Like prayer, laughter and play can be healing to the body, mind and soul. Laughter and play are holy things. When we play, we leave behind the daily stressors and allow our spirit to breathe and re-create.”

Getting serious about our faith does not mean that we are always somber in spirit. Picturing a deeply spiritual person conjures up images of someone who is quiet, wise, and restrained. John the Baptist comes to mind, living in the desert and subsisting on locusts. And while plenty of spiritual practices emphasize silence, study, fasting, and repentance, we must also remember that Jesus himself said:

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

As if to underscore this point, his very first recorded miracle was at a wedding. He turned water into wine so that the party could continue (John 2:1-12).

Choosing to play—even if it seems foolish or unimportant to others—can be a way in which we draw closer to God, the author of all celebration, joy, and delight. It can be a way we intentionally praise the giver of all good gifts.

What can you do today for the pure joy of it, to connect with the God who delights in you?

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*Feature Photo by insung yoon on Unsplash