We used to play tag all the time growing up – classic tag, freeze tag, hide and go seek tag, tv tag, icecube tag…
I have to admit, I miss those days!
Saturday evening, I watched a group of kids, including my own, play tag in our backyard. There were boys & girls alike, with ages ranging from 3 to 14. It was so cool to watch them play together!
The kids played a version of tag called, “Cherry Bomb.” I’ll tell you right now, I don’t get it. It started out like your basic hide and go seek tag. The person who was “It,” would count to 20, while the others hid. “It” then had find the kids & tag them (okay, I got all of that). So, at one point “It” was chasing the others, when all of sudden, kids started randomly jumping off the swingset, exclaiming “cherry bomb!” Then even “It” started doing it! It made no sense, but the kids had a blast.
As I sat there watching a game of tag, I knew I was witnessing something unique. How often do you see kids with that age span playing together? Not just playing as in “occupying common space,” but really playing with each other? Seriously, the oldest kid was an 8th grader and the youngest was a preschooler.
I couldn’t help but think of it as a model for how church should be.
I loved watching the kids play. The little ones were such a hoot! They’d run around screaming with delight – they were just excited to be playing! Sure, they didn’t have a clear grasp on how the game worked, but that’s what the big kids were there for. They helped them along by explaining the rules & showing them the boundaries.
There were definitely times when the big kids concentrated on tagging each other – they are after all on the same level. But, in the next moment, one of the big kids would take a little one by the hand & help them find a hiding place. They could have looked at those little ones & said, “You’re not old enough to play.”
But they didn’t.
Ever watch a big kid play tag with a little one? Notice how they’ll never run quite as fast as they could, and eventually they’ll let the little one tag them. And then watch how that little one lights up! It would be so easy for the big kid to outrun the little one & laugh at the fact that no matter hard the little kid may try; they’re just too young to run fast enough or move quick enough.
But they don’t.
They know if they did, then eventually that little one would become frustrated & give up. They’d throw their arms up, fall to the ground & declare they don’t want to play anymore because the joy of the game is gone.
Saturday night, I watched my kids look up with admiration to those big kids who played with them. They relied on them to model the game. And one day, my kids are going to teach someone younger than them how to play…because someone invested in them first.
Those big kids got it. They remembered what is was like to be that little kid.
I admire those big kids so much.
Vegetable Soup 