Theological reflection on building with Legos

As Cari and I were praying together last night before going to bed I was thinking and praying and giving thanks for the fact that when we build something with Legos, or when kids build with Legos, we are really following in God's footsteps! We worship an incredible God who created ex nihilo...out of nothing. He formed all the atoms, all the pieces, all the layers of our world and put it together. Out of His grace, to this day, He sustains this creation, sovereignly caring for it and His children, us.

Obviously when we build with Legos we are not creating ex nihilo b/c the Lego parts are pre-existent matter that comes in those wonderful boxes. But we get to use our God-given creative juices to build from the ground up, to build layers, people, buildings, environments. What a teachable moment Legos provide!

Our Church is reading through the Bible using

 

http://www.newlivingtranslation.com/05discoverthenlt/dwb.asp

and so we are in Genesis right now and this verse hit me last night when we were praying.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Gen. 1:27-28, NIV).

The Hebrew for the verbs "to rule" and "subdue" give a sense of being a caretaker, a steward, a protector. So what a fun gift it is to be able to begin to learn these lessons of caretaking and stewarding, as a kid (or as a 31 year adult!), while building and playing with Legos. Let the teachable moments continue!

And in case you were wondering ...



there is actually a person who has built most if not all the Old Testament stories with Legos. If any of you are looking for an early birthday gift for me ;) this is a great idea! How fun!

http://www.thebricktestament.com