Ha ! Ha ! Ha !

A Dad suggested the family get him a gift for his birthday that the whole family could get something out of, so they bought him a wallet !     A man admitted to his pastor that his wife hadn’t spoken to him since Christmas. She told her husband when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas to just surprise her. So at 3 a.m. on Christmas morning he leaned over and went “BOO !”    A preacher was proud of his brand new “loose leaf” Bible, so he decided to bring it to the pulpit to preach out of in his series on Genesis. As he began to read to the church about the story of the fall he read “And Adam said to Eve. . .”  Then he turned to page to complete the verse but looked puzzled for a few seconds. Finally realizing what had happened, he looked up rather embarrassed and said, “. . . It looks like a leaf is missing !”

OK, I did three jokes in case two went over your head or seemed too dry hoping by three strikes I wouldnt be out ! :).  So what’s my point?  Laughter !   Some ponder, does God have a sense of humor? Surely the answer is a resounding “Yes !” Ever see a platypus? Or ever look in a . . . nevermind !  You get the picture. I hope !    Anyway, certainly God does have a sense of humor for one of the first fruits of the Spirit mentioned in the list in Galatians is “JOY !!!” It comes right after Love. But you must understand this is not a contrived or manufactured joy as created in a moment or two after a funny joke but a genuinely happy emotion and byproduct of being in right relationship with the Lord.

W.C. Fields was a comic of note in the previous century. He said “Smile first thing in the morning and get it over with”.  Though that might make for a little chuckle in a moment it’s not what God intends for His children. True joy is intended to be as lasting as your walk with God.  You may be thinking, especially if you are out there working today, “hey pastor thats fine for you but its tough to soar with eagles when you work with turkeys !”   Well remember that true joy is not governed by own’s situation. True joy will come when you are really in step with Christ and will be there even when life gets hard today.  Oh you may not always feel like a belly laugh but despite life’s disappointments there is this spiritual joy that God will grant because you know He makes life come out ok.    That word joy in Gal.5:22 comes from a word that speaks of grace. Grace is what is tapped into when you simply decided to let God govern you today !  So let Him, and laugh today, its good for you and looks a lot more Christlike than a frown !!