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Our Whimsical God: Consider the Platypus

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So, yesterday, I wrote a blog that lamented my loss of childlike wonder and whimsy.  I proposed that this not only robbed my life of joy but that it also robbed God of glory.  We have a delightful God who delights in delighting us.  I proposed that the fact that we even have a sense of whimsical pleasure is simply an outgrowth of God's creative joy.

So, today, a case in point.  Exibit A: the platypus.

The Platypus is such an unusual animal that when it was first discovered, scientists assumed it was a hoax.  It simply doesn't make any sense.  Consider these facts about the Platypus:


  • It has the body of an otter, the bill and webbed feet of a duck, and the tail of a beaver.
  • It's a carnivor, but it has no teeth (it feeds off the bottom of lakes and rivers using gravel to grind up its food).
  • It swims gracefully, but the webbing on its feet retract to expose claws for walking on land and digging its burrow.
  • It is a mammal, but it lays eggs (one of only two mammals to do so).
  • Baby Patypuses (Patypi?) are the size of lima beans and are completely helpless, requiring their mother to focus all of her care on them for two to three months.
  • It doesn't have teeth, but the males have poisonous stingers in its heels.
  • It has eyes but doesn't use them when hunting for food, relying instead on a sonar-type sensitivity in its bill.

The platypus is just plain weird.  It doesn't make sense - but it is delightful.  I wonder if God laughed as he created it - not in derision, but in joy.  I wonder if he laughed when he thought about us today trying to make some sense of that crazy animal.  God delights in delighting - he is whimsically creative.

So, today, take some time and enjoy the small things God sends your way to remind you that he is good and creative and bigger than your stress and more delightful than your small vision of life.  Worship God by delighting in God.

[I picked up that second platypus image here]
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