On Being a “Serious” Christian

Enjoy
Written By Trillia Newbell

I cycle. I get on a bike, channeling my inner 12 year old girl, and spin all over Williamson County where I live. I will sit on my bike for hours upon hours (okay, not really yet, only two or so). I find great joy in it and actually wrote a piece for Christianity Today about the intersection between Christianity and exercise. I love cycling and I believe that I can glorify God while I’m enjoying the sport.

But I’ll be honest, the fear of man sometimes gets the best of me and I wonder if my enjoyment of cycling will be perceived as less serious, a waste of time, or too much “trivial” fun for a Christian. I do realize that some Christians see “fun” as “not redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:6).

So, I’ve sought to explore this topic, although not as a way to justify riding my bike, which by the grace of God, I feel the freedom to do. Rather I have wanted to explore the place of rest and play in the Christian life. If God says whether we eat or drink do all things to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31), surely all things would include those things that we might not see directives on in the Scriptures.

These posts are forthcoming but until then, I’d like to encourage you to rest and/or play. Stop and literally smell the roses. Enjoy and delight with your children as they explore the world around them. Thank the Lord for His creation. Pray on long walks in the park. Praise God for the gift of rest as you read a book. And if you don’t have the hours available to do such things, ask the Lord for five minutes to wait on Him and enjoy silence.

We can and should be serious about our faith but perhaps we can give each other room for how that might look in different contexts and for different people. And one thing that we can all agree on is that God is the only One who doesn’t need rest—and yet even He rested (Gen 2:2; Isaiah 40: 28). You and I must rest whether it looks like sleep or play.

More soon!

What about you? Do you find it difficult to play—do you see it as a waste of time or only for children? Do you think it’s possible to glorify God while doing things not directly related to our faith (i.e. Bible reading, prayer, etc.)?

 

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On Being a “Serious” Christian
On Being a “Serious” Christian

I cycle. I get on a bike, channeling my inner 12 year old girl, and spin all over Williamson County where I live. I will sit on my bike for hours upon hours (okay, not really yet, only two or so). I find great joy in it and actually wrote a piece for Christianity Today about the intersection between Christianity and exercise. I love cycling and I believe that I can glorify God while I’m enjoying the sport…

Trillia Newbell
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