Early one morning, as the fog
hovered just above the trees, I was riding my motorcycle outside Huntington,
MA, heading north, when coming around a curve I saw a mother fox and her kits
playing in the road. It was a fleeting scene, for my presence caused them to
flee; only a moment or two – but it was a lasting moment. The joy of the mother
and pups running in circles and jumping brought joy to my heart. The
early-morning ride occurred some fourteen or fifteen years ago, but the memory
still brings joy and pleasure to me.
I remember how the rest of my
ride that day was flavored with the delight of seeing the foxes and how I
couldn’t wait to share my experience with Vickie.
This past Monday morning there
were three adolescent foxes playing in our backyard; running in circles,
jumping on each other, rolling over, leaping into piles of leaves – but this
time, as Vickie and I enjoyed watching them, it was not a fleeting moment as it
was outside Huntington, MA, but at least forty-five minutes of wonder,
forty-five minutes of delight, forty-five minutes of a glimpse of heaven. Innocence
at play is a preview of heaven, and perhaps nowhere do we see such innocence as
in creation that has yet to encounter the hand of man and the general decay of
the earth in its fallen condition.
Jesus wants His joy to be in us
and He wants our joy to be full (John 15:11; 17:13) – this is not a joy of
passing euphoria, but a joy that transcends circumstances and the vicissitudes
of life; it is a joy of innocence, a joy without guile – rather simplistic it
may seem, yet profound in actuality; profound because its source is God – not the
trite little gods of temporal pleasure and narcissism and materialism – but the
God who created and redeemed us to be His sons and daughters.
If earthly parents take
pleasure in playing with their children – how much more does our heavenly
Father look forward to playing with us?
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