God’s Sense of Humor
I
believe the Lord has a wonderfully perfect sense of Humor.
Unfortunately, we probably tend to incorrectly think of Him as being
totally serious ALL the time. But think
about it for a moment – He is the Creator of ALL things. He is Perfect and Complete. Wouldn’t that mean that He also is full of
Joy, Happiness, and even the creator of Laughter?
Now I’m
not talking about boisterous, raucous laughter you might hear from a bunch of
drunkards who have lost their inhibition.
I’m talking about someone who enjoys things, smiles, and yes, even
laughs appropriately along the way.
Let
me share a recent experience with you to demonstrate this point which happened the other day while I was taking my dogs for a run.
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| This is not my dog Missy, but she looks about like this when she runs! |
I was
tired after a long day, so instead of walking along with them, I loaded them in the back of our mini-van and drove
a short ways out of town to drop them off on the side of a country road. I then let the van idle down the road at a slow pace while the dogs run
alongside or behind and enjoy themselves.
Our
two dogs have completely different personalities. Abby (a black lab and basset hound mix) is quiet and super well mannered, while
Missy (a full bread basset hound) on the other hand, is an attention seeking diva with a tendency to whine
and beg for things.
Missy
is a short, old, Bassett Hound, now approaching 13-14 years old, but is still
in pretty remarkable shape for a dog that age.
Like most Basset Hounds she has way to much skin and ears big enough to
fly if she had the power to flap them like wings.
She is rather comical to look at and mixed
with her personality you can’t help but either laugh at her or be a bit
frustrated.
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| Anytime we are eating, Missy is like this begging for food. |
While
Abby can easily jump up into the back cargo space of the van on her own, Missy needs help
just loading up into the van. She can
get her front paws up onto the bumper, but then I have to hook my foot or hand under
her rear haunches and give her a boost the rest of the way up. After doing so, she usually either ignores
the assistance she received or wheels around or gives a look of pride as if she
had made the leap to higher ground on her own.
During
the drive for the few minutes it takes to get out of town, she usually begins
to whine and then quickly transforms that into an all-out hound dog bawling
bark of excitement that seems as if it will blow out the windows. She just can’t contain herself in expressing
either her boredom feeling trapped in her situation or excited beyond all
belief in expectation of what is coming.
After
arriving and getting dropped off to begin their run, Missy begins quickly in
excitement, but within a matter of moments becomes distracted by some smell off
in the weeds. Her journey is one of slow starting and stopping, constant distractions and examinations of insignificant
clumps of brush. And, if she thinks she
has found something noteworthy, she then immediately marks it as her own before
resuming the journey down the road.
To
keep the trip from taking all day, and to keep Missy moving forward, I often have to pause, honk the horn to get
her attention (if her brain hasn’t been shut off completely by what her nose is
smelling) and encourage her to follow along where I am leading the way. If I just keep going and she loses sight of
the van, she just gets disheartened and stops… sits in place wherever she is at…. and waits until someone
comes back eventually to find her.
On
this particular trip the other day, I was in a bit of a hurry for some reason,
and I quickly found myself becoming irritated at the lagging, sagging hound
dog. After yet another pause of doggy distraction,
I honked the horn to get her attention and muttered under my breath, something
to the effect, “Come on you slacker, can’t you just pay attention and keep
moving forward?”
Almost
immediately upon saying this, the clear words came into my mind, “You are like Missy.” This phrase was
accompanied by what I could only explained as an unseen smile. I know that sounds funny to say, but that
phrase, “You are like Missy” didn’t come with any sense of judgement or
condemnation, but rather with a divine smile attached and an unheard
chuckle. It was as if in my moment of
frustration with my hound dog, the Lord had a little laugh as he tried to show
me how my life and actions are often like those of my floppy dog.
I
couldn’t help but smile and laugh myself at the thought and comical comparison the
Lord had shared with me, and as I thought about His prompting, several humorous things became clear to my mind.
Like Missy trying to get into the back of the van, often,
when I am struggling to reach higher spiritual ground, my feeble efforts only
serve to get my front paws off the ground, while the gravity of my mortal
frailties keeps me stranded at a lower level.
I guess you could say that I am spiritually gravity challenged. It is only with a spiritual lift or kick in
the pants from the Lord that I am able to make the actual ascension to any
greater level of progress. Alas, far too
often, I probably then tend to pat myself on the back and act, like my hound
dog, either ungrateful for the help, or thinking I have done it all on my own. (These thoughts also came with that “wink” and smile of recognition and understanding from the Lord).
Like
my old hound dog, I also am probably prone to get a bit too excited at times,
when something of sincere interest in on the horizon. I may be a bit too vocal and overzealous about it in my
excitement and anticipation, which may be irritating to those around me during
those episodes leading up to whatever it may be. At other times I may grumble or express
frustration because I feel trapped in a situation I am uncomfortable with,
rather than just be grateful He is taking me on a ride to some as yet unseen
destination.
Like
my wandering dog, I too, often become easily distracted from the course the Lord
would want me to run. I often start spiritual things with a burst of initial
excitement, but the straight and narrow path is easy to drift off of if we stop
to smell and check out the subtle enticements placed by the adversary to lure
us away from our progress. Like my
marking hound, I sometimes want to claim the things of this world as my own
(even if only in my own mind).
When
I thought about that, and how we can’t really take anything with us, it brought
another smile, as the Lord showed me that such attempts to cling to the material
things of this world are about as foolish as my dog peeing on a random weed and
thinking that somehow she then owned it as her own. (Another wink and a divine
smile with this comparison).
Fortunately,
the Lord who drives each of our vehicles of life, lovingly and patiently honks
the horn to regain our attention from time to time, and calls us back onto the
path of progress. Rather than grow
impatient with our faults and failures to stay focused, as I was doing that
day, He cheers us on in our efforts and applauds and praises us with each
further advancement we make.
As I
mentioned, all of these thoughts and impressions came with an unheard, but recognized
heavenly laugh and smile. And because of
it, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh about it myself. It was a perfectly joyous and lifting form of
learning and teaching. There was absolutely nothing condemning or demeaning about it all.
So
what does this all mean? I think what
this reinforced to me is that we may have a false perception of who God really is and
what He is really like.
I think the
adversary plants these false concepts of an unfeeling, stiff and always serious
God, who is distant and difficult to please.
When in reality, He is a loving Father, who is full of happiness and constant
joy. A Being who not only intimately
cares about us, but also lovingly laughs at our silly foibles from time to time, and
smiles with satisfaction and encouragement at our little successes – which He
actually helps us to accomplish in the first place.
If
all this seems like a foreign concept to you or appears to fly in the face of
your religious logic, then think of a caring parent with their little toddler
child. As that toddler is learning to
walk, the steps are teetering and unsteady.
The loving parent helps them to rise to their feet and steadies them
until they can begin to let go and try stepping on their own.
The toddler’s falls and tumbles aren’t
greeted with anger or condescension.
Just the opposite! That parent
cheers every unsteady step, and encourages them to try again. And again.
And again. Because He knows that
with each practice and repetition comes experience and growth – which eventually
lead to being able to walk with more confidence on their own.
These
tenuous first steps eventually progress to sure and steady strides, which later
progress to running. All these under the
watchful eyes of a loving parent who waits with open arms for those running
legs to carry them back into His loving parental embrace.
I believe
our Heavenly Father, who is perfect in every way, is not any different. He is the creator of laughter and joy and EVERYTHING good, positive and
uplifting! He is quick to forgive, eager
to assist and encourage us and patient with the knowledge of all things from
beginning to end. And with that perfect
knowledge He also has a sense of humor about our little struggles as he sees
them with the foresight of how it can and will all work together for our good
in the end.
Don’t
take these thoughts the wrong way either. I not at all suggesting that our
lives are a joke to Him. It is an
eternally significant journey with far lasting ramifications when the time of
judgment finally arrives. Sometimes that
means He needs to be serious with us when we have made significant mistakes. But even those moments are ruled by love and
encouraging understanding and uplifting hope in us and our ability to succeed
if we will but turn to Him. I
also believe that those moments of seriousness are likely far outweighed by the
joy, happiness and smiles of approval at our toddler-like attempts.
Now, by suggesting this sense of humor and His
loving manner of encouragement, I am not suggesting that we should be casual in
our worship of Him. Just the
opposite! Understanding and recognizing
Him in His true nature, actually serves to make us love and worship Him all the
more and deepens our relationship with Him!
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