The Daily Word of Righteousness

Created To Play

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. (Psalms 98:4-9—NIV)

Rejoice! Evil is a dark cloud that soon will pass. God and His sons then will have all eternity to play. For this He created the worlds. The universe is one great playground for the children of God.

As in the beginning, holy language is poetry. Nature is a dance. All the heavens are singing the eternal praise to God and the Lamb. The darkness is passing. The future is bright indeed for those who can truly play!

In the Presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. At the right hand of the Lord there are pleasures forever. Your journey is toward joy, toward the desires of your heart.

The sons of God, the angels, children, and animals were created to play. The wicked, the self-centered, cannot play. They can be uninhibited, immoral, drunken, destructive, grasping, vile in imagination, sordid, faithless, and cruel. But they cannot play.

Where there is no sin, work is play—as in Eden.

Until we overcome evil through Christ we cannot play. We can practice unrestrained behavior but we cannot truly play. When play isn't holy it is not true play, just self-indulgent activity.

True play is never selfish, heedless, or slothful. It is the highest expression of faith. When Satan stopped playing and started to scheme, destruction entered the creation.

To play is to do what we want to do. But until we have been transformed morally and are at rest in Christ in the center of God's Person and will, we cannot follow our desires without destroying those around us—and ourselves as well.

We are a fallen race. We have to earn the right and develop the ability to play.

Originally in the heavens all was play. Every angel did what he wanted to do. No doubt there were an infinite number of enjoyable tasks and pleasures that angels took delight in, according to what they were created to do and was put in them to desire to do by the Father.

Satan was a marvelous creature, a cherub of the highest order. He had nothing to do except to enjoy himself and those around him.

Then there entered into Satan the most dreadful of diseases. The most dreadful of diseases, the source of all sin and misery, is self-will. "I will be like the Most High. I will set my throne above the stars of God." Self-will is the opposite of faithfulness.

As long as Satan played, the universe was peaceful. The moment Satan decided to exert his self-will, to enjoy himself outside of the Father's will, destruction entered the universe. Every time you and I exert our self-will destruction enters the universe.

To be continued.