A Giggly God

(I have to give credit to Max Lucado’s writing that originally gave me this idea when I read this snippet of his.

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I had a thought the other day that started when I laughed at something my son did. It probably wasn’t funny to anyone else, but I just had to chuckle at his little antics. If we find ourselves laughing at what our children do, doesn’t that lead you to believe that our heavenly Father does the same?

I did a Google image search for “God laughing”. Needless to say the images were strange and I even found some sacrilegious. When I tried again with “Jesus laughing” the images shown by various artists were a bit more realistic. But still, why isn’t the image of Christ throwing His head back in a big ol’ belly laugh one that we readily can imagine?

Maybe it’s because there aren’t any Bible verses that quote God or Jesus laughing in the way that we think of laughing in joy or happiness. (There are at least three in Psalms that quote God laughing in scorn: Psalm 2:4, 37:13, and 59:8.) It’s one of those first questions I’ll ask when I pass through the pearly gates. “So why didn’t you include any examples of you laughing out loud?”

But I can’t image my Savior frowning when He held the children in His lap (Matthew 19:13-15). It’s hard for me to believe that He was sorrowful as He sat at the many tables in the numerous homes that He visited. When the blind man Jesus healed looked at Him for the first time, do you think that man saw a frown or scowl? I would like to think that Jesus smiled up at Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree (Luke 19:1-9) or that He was smiling as He rode the little donkey colt through the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11).

Whatever your reason for not immediately envisioning a smiling Savior, I challenge you to think a little differently and stretch your imagination. I would like to believe that we have a heavenly Father that smiles when we are empathetic instead of judgmental or when you choose to simply open the door for that mother with her arms full. I can see Him smiling tenderly and chuckling with us when we watch the antics of woodland creatures. (Am I the only one that finds chipmunks hilarious and adorable?!)

It brings me great comfort to think of a giggling God. I hope that, maybe after today, you feel the same.

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If you haven’t gotten a chance to watch the new series on the life of Christ called The Chosen, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out!

They do an amazing job of putting human skin on a God that we sometimes forget walked this Earth and put His sandals on just like the rest of us.

Check it out here! -> THE CHOSEN