Have you ever paused and thought about the following story found in Matthew 17:24 -27?

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

“Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Coins from the mouth of a fish? What?

Seems like a crazy story doesn’t it?

I found myself in an unbelievable narrative myself when God called me to a mountain to have my destiny moment! Here is that story…

We finished lunch with a couple of other hikers on the back deck of the AMC hut and began our final ascent. It was getting colder, and we began putting on warmer gear as we navigated through more snow and ice. With the thinning of the air, the tighter gripping of the cold, and the thickening silence, an overwhelming desire to run ahead came over me. I motioned to my friend that I was going to run up ahead a bit, which he had no issue with. Closing in on the summit, with my heart pounding and my lungs stinging from the cold air, I somehow knew that a milestone of this journey was at hand. I saw a large rock come into view, converging with my path, and I soon found myself standing upon this large rock. It was as if the Lord had gone ahead and had prepared this place of peaceful solitude and comfort so I could clearly hear His voice without all the other distractions. Standing there upon the rock, I took a deep breath, lifted my head to the Heavens, and began to have a conversation with Him. Time relaxed for a moment. It was awesome.

It was here at this place of desolation, on this rock, on this mountain, where He spoke to my heart. Do you want to know what He said to me? He asked me to collect four stones when I got to the top of the mountain. So, standing in my own strength, leaning on my own understanding and ending the tranquil scene He had prepared for me, my response was, “You want me to do what?”

You know, if you remove the playfullness of God in this story it almost sounds mystical. What if I told you that I absolutely love adventure, especially in the mountains.

God is asking us to come to Him with a child like heart. He came to us simply, so that we could simply come to Him!

Yeah, the four stones…this really happened and I invite you to pick up a copy of Heartstone and read the rest of the story!

Have you ever experienced God to be playful?

Do you have a similar story to share?