Abraham and Sarah laughed at jokes God didn't even tell (Gn 18:12). We often laugh when God is serious. God is serious about fulfilling His promises. He's serious about healing the leprous (Mt 8:3) and those incurable by medical standards. Many times doctors and Christians have laughed at God before He healed the terminally ill or even raised the dead (Mt 10:8).
The Lord is also extremely serious about saving us. Nobody in their right mind cracks a smile at the foot of the cross. He's serious about cleansing us of our sins in His blood. Shed blood is no laughing matter.
However, the Lord isn't all serious. He laughs at the learned and clever who take themselves too seriously (Lk 10:21). He gets a laugh out of mighty nations who think they're something more than a moment in time (Ps 2:4). He considers our preoccupation with money and material possessions ludicrous. It would be even more hilarious if we weren't so foolish (Lk 12:20).
The Lord laughs a lot and even cries (Lk 19:41). We do the same. Yet do we laugh and cry for the same reasons as He does?
| PRAYER: | Father, teach me to laugh when You laugh and cry when You cry (Jas 4:9). |
| PROMISE: | "Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him and said, 'I do will it. Be cured.' Immediately the man's leprosy disappeared." –Mt 8:3 |
| PRAISE: | Timothy jokes that he prayed for boldness and got baldness, but his prayerfulness inspires many. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College