Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” Genesis 17:17

The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. Psalm 37:13

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Psalm 126

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21

    The weekend had been long, hard, and disappointing. Paul and I were both away from our families. Things didn’t turn out as we had hoped. We were frustrated and tired. The news had been sobering; bombing had started, lives were at risk, and innocents would be caught in the crossfire. Fear of reprisals filled the air. After a sobering message, we all went out to eat with the wonderful family that had hosted us for four days.

    Despite all the heaviness in the air, we spent two delightful hours of food, fellowship, and laughter. In a world of hard and brutal realities, in the face of disappointment and homesickness, we laughed!

    How? How could we laugh at such a time? Wasn’t it out of place? Could it be the laughter of fools, the laughter of delusion?

    No! It was simply time to laugh.

    Qoheleth,* the wise man of the Old Testament, reminded us that “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:4) It was time for us to laugh. We were not alone in our laughter.

God laughs at the ambitious and pretentious plans of petty despots and powerful tyrants — he knows he will bring them down, judge them in their death, and deliver those they oppressed.

Abraham and Sarah laughed at hearing about the son given to them in old age. God laughed with them, and told them to name that son Isaac, which means laughter.

God’s people laughed when they were delivered and returned from bondage. It was so joyous, it seemed like a dream that was too good to be true.

Jesus promised that those who love him and mourn would be given the gift of laughter. Despite hardship and difficulties, good times and great joy await them.

    It was time for us to laugh. The words and stories we shared about family were funny, joyous, and touching. We celebrated our connections as relatives; kin both in the flesh and in the Lord. We enjoyed a newfound connection and new familiarity that opened our hearts a little wider to each other and “private” stories that are shared only with trusted family.

It was time for us to laugh.

    It was time for us to laugh. A shared faith and a family bigger than genes or blood relationships had brought us together. We joked about common friends and experiences that bound us together. We told of places we had gone to serve the Kingdom and marveled at knowing the same people over half a world away. We laughed knowing that what we shared was unshakable and eternal.

    One of the great blessings of church, for all of its imperfections, is the gift of a genuine laughter — a laughter shared and bequeathed to us by our perfect Father. This is a laughter that we will share in even greater measure when all the sorrow is gone and every tear is wiped from our eyes. One day, like the captives many years ago said, we too will sing:

We are like those who dream. Our mouths are filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. It is said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Yes, the LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:2-3

* This is the actual name the author of Ecclesiastes (thought to be Solomon) uses to identify himself. It is sometimes translated the “Preacher” or “Teacher.”

Title: "The Gift of Laughter"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: October 22, 2001

Share with Others	Related Heartlight Resources
Print this Article Send it to a Friend Discuss	The God Who Sees