Meandering - Formed to Play

“Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.” Psalm 104:25-26

I love the imagery around verses 25-26 of Psalm 104. We get a picture of the sea as created by God, not only for the purpose of practical shipping routes, but also for a place where a huge marine mammal - ‘Leviathan’, can simply frolic and ‘play’. God had ‘play’ in mind when he created the oceans. By the strength of it’s great tail, whales playfully, beautifully, and easily breach - leap out of the sea, like a brook trout rising for a fly. The crash and sound of their artistic dives are heard from kilometers away. Their enjoyment of God’s ocean playgrounds has created huge tourism markets where we humans thrill to watch them play.

Adam Clarke writes, “Dreadful and tempestuous as the sea may appear, and uncontrollable in its billows and surges, it is only the field of sport, the playground, the bowling green, to those huge marine monsters.”

Our English word, “recreation,” stems from the Latin, recreatio. It speaks of the importance of restoration to health, to create anew, restore, refresh. It’s to re + create, if you will. We also associate the word “recreation” with the word play.

Children, some adults, and, as it would appear, oceanic marine life, intuitively know the importance of sport and play. March Break is upon us. We rejoice with those who are able to enjoy ocean playgrounds down south. I was so taken with the beauty of the Caribbean, I thought there should be some way for everyone on the planet to at least once in their lifetime experience it for themselves. Yes, I know (but find hard to comprehend), not everyone likes a beach. Nevertheless, over March Break, I pray, with family and friends, you’re able to get into a good, uplifting book or two, a game of Dutch Blitz, Catan, Crokinole, go skating, sliding, take a leisurely hike, or trips to visit grandparents, thanking our Creator for the restorative powers of recreation and play.

Thanks for meandering along with me,
Pastor Daniel

PS - While you’re at play please take some photos with the theme for our Meandering Photo Search in mind and send in your best one to me - thanks! The theme for March is Joy. You can find more information about this on our website under the Events tab.