God's sense of humour

As a grandparent, I love seeing and hearing stories of what our grandchildren have been up to, especially if they are funny. Two year old Samuel was watching his grandfather fill up the bird feeders in the garden and announced that ‘Grandpa was feeling the birds!’ It conjures up such an amusing picture.

I am convinced God loves watching his children and laughs over some of our exploits and things we say. I can imagine God’s pleasure as he sees families and friends at rest together enjoying one another’s company. I am sure he laughs along with us at some joke or amusing event. Our sense of humour comes from God. We are made in his image.

He doesn’t just enjoy church services or our ‘quiet times’ or even our good deeds and kind words but all of our life; a piece of work well done, the great golf or football shot, our joy at a bargain we find when shopping, the pleasure we get when taking a walk and marvelling at his creation. When we err or things go wrong God is there to comfort and guide. Every part of our life matters greatly to God.

However there can be a unfortunate tendency to view God as rather distant and even like the spiritual police, waiting to jump on misdemeanours so he can turn his displeasure on us.  This view is prevalent even in the Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. It doesn’t seem to matter how much the Bible speaks of God’s love. No matter how often we take communion and remember Jesus’ incredible sacrifice of love by dying on the cross. Somehow our own sense of shame and unworthiness overwhelms our fragile belief in God’s love.

We would rather believe If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10: 26 – 27) than See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3: 1. One is a warning to a few – the other a blessing to us all.

God loves us. God likes us. God enjoys us. God will never leave us but how much better it is to be a joyful child revelling in God’s love than a fearful child only concerned with confessing sin and grovelling in the hope of appeasing a vengeful God. As a parent and grandparent I want to enjoy my family. I don’t want them always talking about their sin and failings even though it’s right to confess them at the time. I want to share life with them, laugh with them, cry with them but be with them and love them. How much more does God want the same.