Whimsy

It caught me by surprise.
I did a double take.
I saw it on a tree stump that had fallen in the woods.
The tree stump was relatively close to the driveway that winds back to a lovely home.

It was a leprechaun.
A statue of a leprechaun that was waiting to greet anyone who walked up the driveway.
You could easily miss it.
The leprechaun’s color seemed to blend in with the surroundings.

There he sat, legs crossed, hat on his head.
A leprechaun in the woods sitting on a tree stump.
Not too far fetched after the stories we heard in Ireland.
Stories about fairy trees sitting alone in a field; stories of leprechauns.

I smiled at the absurdity of the location.
I smiled at the whimsy of it all.
Intentionally placed, knowing few would find it.
Yet still there for the eye that can see.

Whimsy.
I like that word.

Driving in a college town near my home, I have seen such whimsy.
In a town of one-way streets with brick houses in a row, I saw it.
Hanging from a front porch in the oddest of locations was an army boot.
An army boot hanging from its laces with a flowering plant inside.

A beautiful plant that was thriving, flourishing in a boot.
Not the place you would expect to find life.
Not exactly the thing you would expect to see hanging by the front door.
But there it was; and life was evident.

My daughter found such whimsy on our trip to Ireland.
She captured it with her camera.
There it was on a front step of a little house.
Perfectly out of place.

A toaster with a plant growing beautifully inside.
An electric tea kettle, minus the cord of course, with a tiny plant peeking through the lid.
Unexpected.
Welcoming.

Whimsy: a playful or amusing quality, a sense of humor or playfulness.
It is so necessary in this fallen world.
Whimsy reminds us of the creative spark that is placed in each of us.
The creativity we seem to forget in the routine of life.

To what shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.” For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. (Luke 7:31-35)

Jesus compared that generation to children at play.
Children who reject whatever games others may suggest.
We won’t dance to your tune.
You can’t make us act the way you want us to act.

Whether the message is joyful or sad, God’s opponents will find excuses.
Excuses to deny His message.
We won’t dance to Your tune.
You can’t make us.

Oh, but He can.
Not in the same way you would imagine when you think of puppets on a string.
Rather, God’s plan will not be thwarted.
What God says goes; what God wants to happen will happen.

I am sure that when Jesus had the little children around Him, He was a bit whimsical.
I imagine Him playful, with a sense of humor and a great laugh.
Some people think of Jesus only as a great teacher, a bearded man in a long robe.
We must think of Jesus as fully God and fully man, our Savior, and our Lord.

He laughed with His friends.
He enjoyed meals with them.
He found things amusing.
He appreciated the perfectly placed, unexpected surprises that were no surprise to Him.

He was present at Creation.
Imagine the whimsy at that moment.
Can you imagine how He must have enjoyed creating the tall giraffe?
Can you see Him smiling at the pace of the snail and the enormity of the elephant?

Jesus had a sense of humor.
He enjoyed watching the children as they played.
I imagine Him joining in their play.
I imagine a wonderful sense of whimsy in our Lord Jesus.

He was the master Storyteller, the incredible Artist.
He was the One who wrote in the dirt with His finger.
The whimsy of that moment is recounted in Scripture.
We will never know what He wrote in that moment of compassion and mercy.

The state of our souls is serious before we trust in Jesus alone for our salvation.
We have lost the sense of creativity that was breathed into us by our Creator.
We have Truth to share and our own unique gifts with which to share it.
We must never compromise the message, even as we share it creatively.

The Gospel message has been entrusted to us.
Where is our whimsy?
What creative way can we share God’s Truth?
In what unexpected places will we find Life?

What creative way can we convey so important a message?
If plants can flourish in a toaster, electric teakettle, or an army boot, we have no excuse.
We must find ways to tell this all-important message.
God’s opponents may still say, We won’t dance to Your tune.

That’s all right.
Not everyone appreciates whimsy.
We will find Life in unexpected places.
We just need to look.