It’s ok to laugh.

Back when I was attending the Episcopal Church, I heard a sermon that probably changed my views on religion and possibly also sparked my sense of comedy. I'm not sure of the title of the sermon but it dealt with how Christians are to be serious folk. The pulpit was no place for humor; it was a place where we battle heaven and hell together. I think he even used the verse in the Gospel were Jesus wept… then stated nowhere in the bible does it say Jesus laughed!

Now we always sat in the very back with my parents, on the wooden pews commonly found in these type churches. During the middle of this sermon, someone up front broke wind…..um, Farted! Wooden pews have a tendency to amplify this naturally occurring phenomenon. It got me and my brothers giggling as well as a few others of the not so dignified (and some of the dignified) members of the congregation.

Thus I made it a personal vendetta to find humor in God’s word. I did find some accounts of the Laughter of God and even some situations in the bible that were pretty whimsical. But the one account that gets me is Sarah. In Genesis 18, Sarah laughed. Hold on a second though, it’s not as funny as you may think… picture this Sarah was ease dropping on the Lord and Abraham’s conversation. The Lord told Abraham, in one years’ time, Sarah will have a baby!”  

Why would she laugh at this? This should be a joyous announcement from the Lord except that she is 90 years old. She describes herself in this chapter of Genesis as ‘worn-out’ old lady! So why did she laugh?

You ever laugh because you weren’t happy? You ever laugh because you were bitter about life or feeling cynical? Kind of like the old expression, “If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry?” It’s my opinion this is why Sarah was laughing.

Then God, in his loving way goes to Sarah and says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Is anything impossible for God? How do you answer a question like that? If you say yes, you’re denying the very power of God! Of course nothing is impossible for God but that brings me to the next question. Why did he wait so long and make Sarah suffer with her infertility? And for us, why does he allow suffering and pain?

God didn’t even save Jesus the pain and the suffering yet Jesus believed there was nothing impossible with God. Jesus suffering was not in vain….God was working out his plan. Sarah was as unaware of the final outworking of God’s plans as we are, she would be long dead before her ancestors would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. We don’t know God’s plans, but we do know his character, that he works for good for those who love him.

Have you ever found it funny God called people like us to spread his word, to tell those around us of the Good News of Jesus Christ? Have you ever worried that you were not good enough to witness to people, to tell them about the Gospel? Have you ever had someone tell you that you are a hypocrite for calling yourself a Christian after all the things that you have done?

He chose Abraham and Sarah, who laughed because they could not understand the power of God. Instead of picking the great intellectuals of his day to spread the word Jesus chose some fishermen, a terrorist, a man whose previous job involved extorting money from people by force and a bunch of other unlikely characters.

God did not pick us for this job because of any great skill or talent that we might have but he chose us because he wanted to demonstrate that it is purely by his grace that we become Christians, not through any ability or good works of our own and once we have become a Christian we do not live by our own strength, we don’t work for God in our own strength but we should rely 100% on him.

Yes, there may be pain and suffering in our lives and we may not understand it now. It’s not funny but sometimes it’s easier to laugh than cry. Laugh because even though life can be tough God is tougher and we are his kids.

In the end it is God who will have the last laugh!

50

50

So, a few months ago I turned 50. For fifty years I sought after life, joy and happiness… well, I pursued it with great energy. Let me say that again, I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Yet once I turned 50, I get the impression that someone or something wants me to slow down. Instead of running after things in life, I get this message in my brain that I need to let things start coming to me. I’m not afraid of getting older but maybe a little afraid of the change that it involves.

Thinking deep down, I’m afraid of making the same mistakes as I get older or maybe making new ones. The experience and wisdom I’ve gained so far is good….but the mistakes I’m talking about are denial and complacency.

In other words, we try to deny or disguise the fact that we’re getting older. So we use anti-wrinkle cream, tummy tucks, face lifts and use oil of delay – all in an effort to disguise that we’re getting older. Remember, the authority on popularity states, “Life begins at 40” and/or “Those really aren’t wrinkles, they’re expression lines!”

We also tend to think that when we get older we’ll be relieved of all responsibility… you know, we can just kick back; do nothing and drift off into the sunset. When I was younger with the stress and demands of life…I looked forward to vacation I stayed up as late as I wanted and did anything I wanted to do (yeah, right). It was life in the fast lane, right?

As I think on this, I also remember fantasizing about retirement and relaxing for the rest of my life. Wouldn’t that get boring after a while? Thinking about retirement… I’d get up, read the bible, dust off my brain, grab the paper, read the obituaries, eat breakfast and go back to bed. Boring…

Philippians 3:12 – 21 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.  Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

When Paul (The Apostle Paul that is) wrote these words he had some major burdens going on. First, he was in prison, awaiting trial and possibly…death. He was also an old man; life was starting to wind down. He states, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

He says, “Forget the past” and Paul was a man with a lot of past. He was Hebrew and a strict Pharisee. His Jewish credentials were faultless but still he says, “When I compare all that to knowing Christ, those things are trash!” Paul was once a blasphemer; a persecutor and a very violent man! Yet the grace of our Lord was poured out on him abundantly…

Jesus Christ came into the world for one reason, to save sinners and Paul says, “I’m right there at the top of the list. I’m the worst!’

There’s a bumper sticker that say, “If Satan reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future.” I like that. He’s going to hell. But if your sin is covered by the blood of Jesus, you’re headed in a different direction.

Moving on Paul then states, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on…” Then he says, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.” Yesterday is the past. Tomorrow is the future. And today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘the present. Each day is a present from God.

In Psalms it states, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

In the 16^th verse Paul states,   “Let us live up to what we have already attained.” He is talking about personal growth, he’s saying, “Even though I’m older I want to continue growing.” There is no retirement from doing what is right in God’s Word. We are to do right until we die or the Lord returns.

So what about my statement of letting life come to me for once? Life always comes to us; it took me 50 years to realize this. Yes, we are still to pursue our faith; love and service to the Lord but God doesn’t want us stressed; tired; or weakened by conditions. He wants us to accept the daily events in our lives with faith.

So here’s even better news…We’re going to get new bodies someday. No more wrinkles. Nor more aches. No more pains. No surgery required. Everything will be new!

We have a choice: We can either eagerly await the Savior’s coming, or fearfully wait the grim reaper. That’s our choice. We can live out the last days of life fearful of growing old, fearful of being helpless, fearful of being a burden on somebody else or we can live in great expectation of our Savior’s return.

It’s my decision to not be a “Hyper-Christian” anymore, but I don’t want to “go with the flow” either. Yes, we all have burdens but thinking back on our lives…didn’t the burdens make us stronger? I think this next 50 years I’m going to let life come to me and save my energy in the pursuit of God’s will and not my own.