Happy Terror

Children love to play hide-and-go-seek!

Some children love it even more when you add a new dimension to the game. That’s when the parent hides and the children seek. The child knows that before the parent is found that they are going to jump out, scream, make crazy noises, wave their arms around and scare them. Let’s go on the journey of what this would look like.

The dad looks for a hiding spot as the children, Sally and Ann, start counting. Dad hides behind a door in the bedroom. Sally and Ann start out on their mission to find their father. As they search for their father they step carefully knowing that at any time he could jump out and scare them.

First, they search in the kitchen. Maybe he’s hiding in the pantry? They carefully walk together to the door. Open it slowly, hearts beating, and jump back to find that no one is there. Next they say, “Maybe he’s in the bathroom.” They walk to the bathroom and it’s dark. They don’t both to turn on the light. It’s part of the thrill of the find. They walk over to the bath curtain, move it ever so slightly to peak in the bathtub area… nothing. Next they walk to the bedroom closet and just as they opened the pantry door they open the closet door. As they jump back, and begin to catch their breath realizing that their father is not there, dad jumps out from behind the bedroom door.

The girls scream for their life as dad is waving his arms around… they run and hide behind the bed, as Sally puts her arms around Ann to comfort her, you hear.

“Hey, it’s not a monster, it’s our dad, let’s get him.”

Then they both leap from behind the bed and run to tackle their dad. This child game is something theologian, Mike Yaconelli, calls “Happy Terror.”

Yaconelli points out that there is not much terror among Christians today. The terror he’s talking about is the bone-chilling, earth-shattering, gut-wrenching, knee-knocking, life-altering fear that leaves one speechless, paralyzed, helpless and glad. It’s a terror that’s a mix of wonder, awe, fear and worship, all happening at the same time.

That life-altering God is who we worship.

This is no ordinary God.

It is a God who shows up in the darkness… just as the children playing hide-n-go-seek with their father didn’t bother to turn on the lights. We too don’t need to turn on the lights. God is igniting a life-altering fire in the darkness.

An experience of God is happy terror.