Life is hard. At times, it’s tiring, boring, busy, painful, heavy, and dark. Sin has stained our world, leaving its terrible mark on our lives.
But life is also fun. And sometimes we forget that God created us to enjoy things too.
In God’s marvellous mercy, he has given us good gifts to enjoy — and that is their only purpose. God has given us the capacity and ability and resources to have fun. And in so doing, we honor him.
I'm reminded of what Joe Rigney says in his book, The Things of Earth: "Sometimes a pleasure is just a pleasure. Period. Full stop. God is honored by your enjoyment of it, your gratitude for it, and its fruitfulness in your life for the sake of the kingdom. So just receive the gift as one of the many pleasures at His right hand."
If we can't have fun, we're not doing life right. We're not doing Christianity right.
Christianity is not stoicism. We're not meant to live this life like robots, mechanically going through the motions, despairing of this world and refusing to enjoy any part of it.
God invented fun. And he allows you to have it here on this earth. More than that, he wants you to have it. By delighting in God’s gifts with thankfulness, we are delighting in God. When Christians have fun, it’s a spiritual activity, because our joy is directed toward God and leads us to worship.
That doesn’t mean we always have to pray before we play, but it means we should always be mindful of why we’re enjoying every good gift.
So do something fun today. Buy the fancy coffee. Call a friend. Visit a new park. Pick up your favorite book. Take silly pictures. Google “best dad jokes.” Make homemade hot chocolate. Take your kids out of school early. Go watch the sunset. Eat ice cream. Eat tacos. Eat chocolate. Go for a walk. Pet a dog. Watch a good movie. Read poetry. Draw a picture. Carve a pumpkin.
And think about the fact that one day, the fun will literally never stop. In the New Heavens and New Earth, we will have perfect enjoyment of everything all the time. We will work — and have fun. We will worship — and have fun. We will play — and have fun.
What a day that will be!
But today you can get a glimpse of that future by enjoying God’s good gifts here on earth. And have some fun to the glory of God.