The Spirit of the LORD has anointed Jesus: “To preach good news to the poor. To bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
Does Jesus make you laugh? The root of laughter is joy. Joy is hard to beat—and joy is hardly more prevalent than when we laugh. Jesus is The Joy Giver. Jesus is constantly giving me joy and only asks that I pass the joy along to others.
Joy is contagious, often accompanied by laughter. Sometimes joy is reflected in a slight grin. Sometimes it’s a chuckle. And sometimes it’s a gut-busting belly laugh that we can’t even contain. Jesus gives us laughter.
I experience joy when I watch Jesus in action. I experience it when I read His teaching in Scripture. And I particularly experience joy when I pass along to others the joy He’s given me.
I find it humorous when Jesus intervenes in an awful situation and overrules the grief He encounters. One of my favorites is in Luke 7. Jesus is headed into town with his disciples and a crowd of people. At the same time, a funeral procession with another crowd of people is headed out to the graveyard on the edge of town. A mother limps alongside the casket of her beloved son. Her heart is shredded as she carries the hellish grief of her unimaginable loss.
Enter Jesus. He stops the procession and chooses to reverse the irreversible. “Young man, get up!” What? Get up? You have got to be kidding!
The dead boy gets up. Jesus lovingly gives the boy back to the woman. At first, there was shock. Then there was comfort. Then there was joy—overwhelming joy provided by The Joy Giver.
That story has often made me laugh. Stopping a funeral procession and raising the deceased! It had to be fun for Jesus to trade the ashes of grief for the oil of gladness. It’s philanthropy from another solar system. Replacing grief with joy. And this is just the beginning for those of us who believe.
Jesus gives me joy, and Jesus makes me laugh! How about you?
In faith,
Roy
