I belong to a great church. The preaching’s good. It’s even filled with a couple of laughs every Sunday. The music is very contemporary praise and worship, and my Bible study on Tuesdays if a bunch of fun women. We know how to laugh at this church. You can tell the sense of humor before you walk in because we call ourselves the church for imperfect people. That’s why I like it. They enjoy themselves in the name of Jesus.
So why is it some Christians don’t know how to smile? They find laughter in church to be blasphemes. I used to belong to a church where one of the ministers tried to talk about how Christians should be happy. He showed scenes from funny old movies, including the “Who’s on First” skit by Abbott and Costello. One of the grumpy old men in the church complained, stating it wasn’t a comedy club. Do you know I still recall that sermon? However, I can’t tell you about most of the other serious sermons preached in that church.
Even Jesus liked to party. His first miracle was at a wedding where he turned water into wine. John 2:8-10 reads Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
Jesus also liked to hang out with children. What can be more fun than kids?
Being a Christian does not mean no longer having a good time. If you honestly believe in Jesus, you want nothing more than to smile and laugh. If you’re a Christian, you should want to shine. The joy inside you should show on your face. God gave you a smile, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you used it.
If you’d like to know more about our Ladies of the Lord Bible Study on Tuesday nights at 6:00 in Jacksonville, Florida, please feel free to e-mail me at kathrynbain@comcast.net.
I’d like to quote the second half of 1 Timothy 6:17, “…but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
God does want us to enjoy life. If the joy of the Lord is our strength and Jesus wanted His joy to be in us and Paul said to “rejoice in the Lord, always,” then it stands to reason that the Christian life is one that is meant to be filled with joy. Miserable despondency is not one of the spiritual virtues. And though we mourn because of sin, and weeping may last for a night, God has said that joy will come in the morning.
I think of the Philippian jailer who was freed from sin and how overjoyed he was that he and his whole household believed. That should be the experience of faith: a joy unspeakable, and full of glory! May God be glorified in our spiritual joy as we rejoice in Him always.
Thank you for this article!
That’s right Michael, we should put our hope in God. Without Him there would be nothing to have faith in and nothing for us to hope for and celebrate. Thank you for the comment.