Laughter

If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven,
I don't want to go there.
— Martin Luther

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
— Genesis 21:6

The word laugh first appears in Genesis 17:17, when God told 100-year-old Abraham that his 90-year-old wife Sarah was going to have a baby. The Bible says Abraham fell on his face and laughed.

Later in chapter 18, three visitors (the Lord among them) appear and tell Abraham again that he and Sarah will have a son. Sarah is eavesdropping, and when she hears she is to have a baby, she also laughs. In chapter 21 the child is born, and Abraham names him Isaac, which means "God's laugh."

God really does have a sense of humor. Seminary won't teach that in systematic theology, but take it from Abraham and Sarah — God does have a sense of humor!

In my mind, I can picture Saturday nights in heaven. All the preachers are sitting around God's throne telling their best Sunday morning pulpit bloopers. Don't tell me God doesn't laugh — He made preachers.

When was the last time you had a really good laugh? It's scriptural, you know — even therapeutic. Proverbs 17:22 KJV says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

A Prayer for Laughter

Lord, help me today to create more laughter than tears. People look better and feel better when they laugh. Let me be a dispenser of joy and fun. Never allow me to forget that ministry is all about encouragement. Amen.

Taken from The Minister's Little Devotional Book.
Copyright © 1997 by H.B. London Jr. and Stan Toler.
Used by permission of RiverOak Publishing, Tulsa, Okla.
All rights reserved.