Fun At The Beach

4/21/2021

Written By: Kenny Scott

Like a lot of people, I enjoy the beach. Now when I say beach, I’m referring to next to an ocean or sea. Indiana Beach and Lake Michigan, no offense, do not apply here -c’mon. There are few places on the planet where the beauty, power, bigness, and peace of God’s creation unite in one place. There is no mistaking that God’s “eternal power and divine nature” are clearly evident here as scripture attests (Rom 1:20).

There is another very important personality trait of God that is also present at the beach which is, often-times, sadly missed. And like a lot of times in life, children often perceive it better than their “wiser” parents. You know this to be true if you have ever been on a beach where children are present. The toddler, for example, usually approaches the water for the first time one of two ways. One will approach with trepidation, as if they can innately sense the unseen immensity and power of God in the surging surf, despite all the encouragement and reassurance they receive from their accompanying parent. The other will rush bumbling into the six-inch wake with reckless abandon occasionally smiling back at their parent until the moment the incoming surf knocks the child summersaulting under the water, briefly, only to pop up drenched with eyes wider than saucers, with onlooking parents laughing.

Older children also usually don’t fail to interact with this unforeseen personality trait of God. How many times have you witnessed the sandcastle vs tide battle? You’ve seen it. All the careful effort and time put in by children to build the perfect fort-like pile of semi-wet sand, only to watch the incoming tide reach the unsuspecting fortress and its proud architects and reclaim nearly all the sand in one single pass. The gauntlet has been thrown! Challenge accepted! What ensues is the frantic effort to build bigger, wider ocean facing walls. Maybe a water diverting moat or additional studs of sturdier shells or rocks to reinforce the enemy facing water. But despite the effort of the architects, which have often-times increased in numbers via energetic recruitment pleas by this time, they are no match for the relentless saltwater.

Do you see it yet? Do you see Him? Kittens pounce on each other tumbling like giant fur-balls. Polar bears slide down snow covered hills. You laugh. Have you ever wondered why humans laugh? The answer behind all these things is God’s playfulness. Think of it, the ocean is one of the most powerful forces on this planet and it actively “plays” with our children. It is an unmistakable character trait of God and it is ubiquitous in His creation.

It’s also present throughout scripture, but often we miss it because we read the Bible as if it were a textbook without emoticons, not the “living” eternal word of God, Himself. Think about it, a talking donkey (Num 22:21-33), the calling of Nathanael (Jn 1:43-50), Peter and the temple tax (Mat 17:24-27), the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-32), the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-16), and the resurrected Christ and the miraculous catch of fish (Jn 21:1-14) (I couldn’t leave out another beach story) to name a few. I’m sorry, but all of these stories are just religious weirdness if you don’t see God’s playfulness in the accounts. Take time to read one or two of these passages this week without Sunday school glasses and just experience it as if it were happening to people you know. How would it “play” out (pun intended)?

You see, God created laughter and God IS more playful than we are. Or we are greater at something good than He is-a claim no one would dare to make. In a world where you are downtrodden due to being inundated with overdramatized everything, rioting for any reason, mass shootings, racial tension, lying power hungry politicians, sickness and death, wouldn’t it be nice to laugh? My advice, turn off the noise mankind feeds you for a while and pay attention to what’s going on immediately around you-God might just be trying to give you a break to play and laugh with Him. Laughter might just be the best medicine after all (LOL-God came up with that too! Prov 17:22)