A group of theologians and scholars once cornered C.S. Lewis and asked him, “What is the most important theological discovery you have ever made?” Lewis smiled and responded, “I exist to enjoy God’s enjoyment of me.” Did you know that? God enjoys you! God wants you to enjoy him, to enjoy life, to enjoy the world he has created, and to enjoy the people he has put in your life. Scripture backs up God’s call to enjoy life in 1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV):
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with every-thing for our enjoyment.
A long, long time ago a group of people in the church got together and thought it was important to make a list of the most important beliefs of Christianity. They called it “catechism.” They soon discovered that the list was too long and difficult to memorize, so they came up with a “short catechism.” This was to be a summary of the key beliefs of our faith. Do you want to know how this shorter catechism begins? “What is the chief end of humankind? To glorify God and enjoy him forever!”
I come across so many people who won’t allow God into their lives because they think God is going to make them give up fun. Many misguided Christians have perpetuated this nonsense. They give off the impression that to become a Christian means the party is over — that being spiritual means being miserable. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, to become a Christian means the party is just beginning. When you have the joy of Christ in your heart you can’t help but smile and have a good time. My number one rule for the staff of my church is to have fun. Ministry is supposed to be fun. I have the most fun job in the world! I get to tell people how much God loves them and that God’s love can help them live better lives. How much fun is that?
God created us to play and to enjoy the life he created! I would go so far as to say that God requires us to have fun. The Bible tells us so. In the tenth chapter of Mark we read that Jesus was teaching and a bunch of playful kids ran to-ward him. The sour disciples were appalled. You can imagine their reaction, “Children ought to be seen and not heard. Where are their parents? Can’t they see these kids are interrupting Jesus? Get these kids out of here!” The Bible says that Jesus became very angry at the disciples. He felt the kids were treated unfairly. He said, “What are you doing? Let the children come to me. Don’t get in their way. In fact, unless you can receive the kingdom like these kids, you will never be able to enter it.”
What did Jesus mean by this bold statement? Children are receptive, dependant, and trusting. They bring nothing but themselves and their joy. Jesus says that unless we are able to receive God and his kingdom like children, we will never understand life and God.
G.K. Chesterton was a profound Christian writer who inspired C.S. Lewis. He wrote something that I have never been able to forget. He wrote that “God is the last child left in the universe.” He said the rest of us have just lost our joy. I believe Chesterton was on to something. When we read Genesis we see that joy radiated through God as he created the universe. When God created you and me there was great joy in his heart. For example, do you think when God thought about creating a daisy, he just said, “Um, daisies be”? I don’t think so!
Tony Campolo talks about the time when his grandson was just a little boy and would play on Campolo’s knee. He would bounce him up and down, lift him up into the air, and bring him down to the ground. Campolo said that every time he would do this his grandson would say, “Do it again, Pop! Do it again!” And Campolo would do it again. Of course, his grandson would say to him once more, “Do it again, Pop! Do it again!” Campolo says that when God created that first daisy something childlike inside the heart of God said, “Do it again! Do it again!” And after the fourth and fifth daisy God said to himself, “Do it again! Do it again!” And after the fifty billionth, trillionth daisy God was jumping up and down, clapping his hands saying, “Do it again! Do it again!” We have a God of joy, fun, and play!
But something happened to our world. We lost our joy. We lost our sense of fun and laughter. Sin and cynicism crept in and caused us to lose our ability to play. God wanted us to get our joy back, so he decided to come to us in Jesus Christ. One of the things God said to us in Jesus was, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
In Jesus God was showing us his joyful personality so that we would get our joy back. At first, the world really did not know how to respond to this. We see an example of this in Mark 2 and Luke 7 when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, the supposed experts of the Jewish Law. They thought they knew everything there was to know about God. Jesus came along and said, “You just don’t get it. I come eating, drinking, and having a good time and you accuse me of being a glutton, drunkard, and a friend to sinners and tax collectors.” Someone once said that basically Jesus was accused of being a party animal! They thought Jesus was playing too hard. They thought they knew everything about God. They thought God was not into fun, games, and play, but they were wrong. They just could not see that Jesus was trying to get us to enjoy life again.
Do you know what Jesus’ first miracle was in John? It occurred in a small town called Cana at a wedding party. A wedding party back then could go on for an entire week! Jesus was invited to this party. One of the first scenes of Jesus in John is not him preaching a sermon or holding a sick person’s hand; it is Jesus at a party! After a few days they ran out of wine. What do you think Jesus did? Help clean up and say goodnight? No! He told some folks to fill several large jars with water and he performed his first miracle by turning all that water into wine. So Jesus’ first miracle in John was not healing the sick, feeding the hungry, walking on water, or raising the dead. His first miracle was making gallons of wine so a party could continue!
You can read the story of Jesus turning the water into wine over and over again. You can read every biblical commentary on the planet. You can ask biblical scholars and theologians to explain the story with some profound theological point, but you will never find what you are looking for because the great truth of that story is this: Sometimes Jesus enjoyed having fun! Jesus was showing us how to get our joy back and for our joy to be full.
I think of it this way. When I was a little boy and would get grumpy and grouchy, my dad had a clever way of changing my mood. He would not lecture me. He wouldn’t tell me that I should be grateful for what I had and not complain. He would get on the floor with me and find a place just above my belly button and blow air bubbles on my tummy. He would do it until I smiled and gave into laughter. Quite simply, this is what God did for us in Jesus. God got down on our level and embraced us so that we might get joy back in our lives.
You have homework to do. Go out and let yourself be loved. Go hack at a golf ball. Take dance lessons and learn how to dance. Turn on your favorite song and sing like no one is listening. Go watch your favorite comedy and laugh your way to joy!
Norman Cousins was a great doctor who found that there was healing power in laughter. In fact, laughter saved his life. He was at death’s door and decided to find a bunch of episodes of Candid Camera. He watched them over and over again and laughed his way back to health!
I came across a wonderful quote from an 85-year-old woman from the hill country of Kentucky:
If I had to live my life over again, I would dare to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would be sillier. I would take fewer things seriously... I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones... if I had to do it over again, I’d travel lighter.
What would you say if you had to finish this sentence: “If I had to live my life over, I would...”? Don’t wait to experience God’s joy in your life. Do it now! Learn to play again. Every moment is a gift. This is why we call it “the present.” Enjoy God’s enjoyment of you. Enjoy your life, have fun and play. When you do, you will be very close to the kingdom of God. Amen.