Jesus with the fingerpaints

The other day I was at a Christian conference, enjoying a worship session. When into my mind flashed an image of Jesus. Not all that unusual, as I often think about Jesus and try to picture Him while worshiping to help me focus (try it sometime, just close your eyes and think of Jesus while singing praise, rather than noticing the jumper the person in front of you is wearing). But this time it was a bit different. Jesus had finger-paints.
And my first thought was “It can’t be appropriate to picture the Saviour of the world with his hands covered in finger-paint.” It was crazy – he was getting splashes of paint all over those white robes he is always portrayed as wearing (How He kept them so clean 2000 years before washing powders that keep whites ‘whiter than white’ is a real miracle…)
But then I realized that maybe it wasn’t so crazy. Because in the book of Ecclesiastes it says there is “a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4" href="http://biblegateway.com/bible?version=51&passage=Ecclesiastes+3%3A4" target="_blank">Ecclesiastes 3:4). And again and again in the New Testament we are commanded to be full of joy (eg…)
Maybe God wants us to stop being so serious all the time, and just lighten up a bit. Maybe he wants us to simply enjoy the life He has given us a bit more. Maybe it is time for us to discover God isn’t just in the strict, serious church service box we have made for Him, but in the crazy adventures and good times too. And maybe it is time we started making it obvious to the world that Jesus is good news by showing them how great life can be with Him. Perhaps it is time to stop being so serious, and start doing random fun stuff, for no reason other than God loves us, and He loves to see us enjoying the life He has given us. Pass me the finger-paints!