Mark 10:13-14 - "And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"
I've always believed that one of the things that bothered the disciples about children being brought to Jesus was that the children introduced an air that was less serious than the disciples had come to share with Jesus. On the one hand, the disciples were listening to Jesus and taking him seriously when he talked about loving your enemy, sacrificing money and sleep, watching vigilantly, and praying without ceasing. And into the midst of these serious teachings comes these innocent, dependent, playful, giggly kids which obviously bothered the disciples. But Jesus said, "Bring 'em on! To such belongs the kingdom of heaven!"
So wouldn't it stand to reason that Jesus was open to a good clean joke from time to time. I think Jesus might get a kick out of this one: "What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese."
When I was in college, my campus pastor, Missouri Synod Lutheran Pastor Bill Couch, who was as serious as any human being that ever lived, always used to say to me, "DeGreen, you take yourself way too seriously." And then he'd encourage me and all of us to lighten up, to laugh at ourselves and recognize how God graciously provides for our limitations and foibles. Additionally, my very first secretary at my church was Connie Cunningham. Connie went to her grave with breast cancer, poking fun at herself and anyone else who would lighten up, saying that laughter is the best weapon for battling cancer and all that ails you.
To be sure, the great Dale Carnegie said that the safest humor is poking fun at yourself, in essence, "throwing yourself under the bus," as the phrase goes nowadays. But as a couple of my older sisters in Christ are eager to remind me by regularly poking fun at me, if you can't take a little ribbing from others then you probably need to lighten up.
Bottom line is that God's Word and giggles are good for everybody. That's why I believe that when Jesus was dishing up God's Word, he was thrilled when parents started dishing up their children, with their short attention spans, total dependence, playfulness, giggles, and all.
So consider doing as my children and other significant adults in my life and I do each day. Make a commitment to laughing and having some giggles together in the Lord. There's a good chance such laughter will help us to celebrate the invitation of Jesus to come as we are and to revel in his grace.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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