“I’m tossing up punch
lines that were never there”
I can’t help but think
how our God has a nifty sense of humor. He instructs us by giving us tests, and
then tests us in order to provide a lesson. On one hand, He promises us that if
we trust Him with our lives, we will be fulfilled. On the other hand, He
fulfills us so much so that we have to be knocked back down to Earth in order
to understand. He aligns our steps so we do not fall, but then pushes us down
when we think we’ve been going down the right path. God creates us in a way
that makes us unique individually but our differences are often the cause of
much pain and trouble. These mixed messages from the creator are a great source
of humor for me. It makes me continually question why I keep trying to
out-humor Him. God must get a kick out of us always thinking we know punch line
when the joke is on us the entire time. He must find it funny that some of us
even pray for our favorite sports teams, thinking that our good faith will sway
them to victory.
This brings me to a quick
side note about Tim Tebow and the power of God’s influence on sports. Tebow is undoubtedly a faithful person, great
role model and talented athlete. He is outspokenly accepting of his role on the
New York Jets as a bench warming fullback thrower (my own term for his role). To
me, Tebow is almost the joke of the New York Jets. Why does Tebow, a playoff caliber
quarterback, ride the bench for Gang Green? Is Tebow really getting God’s Word
out through his actions on the field? If we think of God’s sense of humor,
perhaps through Tebow, He is teaching all of us a lesson. Tebow is called upon
to produce in random situations. He’s placed in positions where the demands are
high and the outcomes are uncertain. He’s constantly in the spotlight, yet must
always prove himself to the New York fans. I think, if nothing else, God’s
teaching us that even Godly men can’t influence every outcome but must endure
them anyway. What if the tables were turned and it was Mark Sanchez on the
sidelines playing second fiddle to starting quarterback, Tebow? Would God fuel
Sanchez’s anger into action? Would Sanchez be able to accept such a role or
would he fade into self-defeat? It’s funny, and usually timely, how God uses
different approaches with each of us. Actually, it’s perfect.
Let me go back to God
and His testing us in order to teach us a lesson. I used to think many of the
lessons God taught me would be lost had they been under different circumstances
or if my personality was different. I did not, for example, expect to learn
much when God pulled me aside and exerted loud utterances of wrongdoing. My
personality and makeup are not such where I take criticism well. To my surprise
though, in recent years that approach has prompted me to listen and to learn a
lot about my life. Anger-inspired
action, humorously, has and does work for me. This is God’s sense of humor
working in my life. He’s taking what I think doesn’t work for me and turning it
into something productive. The joke is on me.
So when we place our
trust in Him, I think what we’re really doing is offering Him the opportunity to
once again dazzle us with humor. If we thank
Him for fulfilling our needs, He produces a riddle to keep us on our toes.
Until we solve that riddle, we are left feeling humbled. This is part of His
plan for us. When we step out on the path of His design, we are not expecting to
laugh in unforeseen places along the way. However, He delivers a laugh every time. The
joy rarely arrives in sequence, but it does come. That’s the way God works. He
is the greatest comedian. God’s perfect sense of humor is efficiently untimely.
It somehow soothes things at the most inopportune times. We must take a step
back and laugh at ourselves every now and then. God’s humor isn’t the dry,
witty or slapstick type we all know. His is the welcoming kind that doesn’t
necessarily provoke immediate laughter. It’s the kind we need most when we
think we know the punch line, when we are certain of the bite. His humor is
always within reach if we’d only accept and let Him flourish in the amusement.
“I’m looking for
answers from the great beyond”
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