Joining God by Playing

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along,
listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
Winnie-the Pooh, in The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh“And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets”

 (Zech. 8:5, NASB)

How did you practice Sabbath growing up? For many of us, it certainly didn’t involve playing! Yet A. J. Swoboda reminds us that “Sabbath is something enjoyed for its own sake, inviting us to play. And play is not undertaken to accomplish; it is undertaken for its own sake … God never outlaws sabbath play. On the contrary, Sabbath is time for creation to play in the world of God once again—as re-creation … The Sabbath makes room for us to play outside once again, like when we were kids” (Subversive Sabbath, p. 20).

Peter Scazzero, author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, highlights the often-forgotten significance and place of play in the life of God and in our own lives, especially on Sabbath. Play, rightly understood, helps us forget about work and refreshes us in unexpected ways. See Peter’s blog Sabbath: Joining God by Playing.