Laughter

Names are very important in the Bible (and, I suspect, in everyday life – but that’s a subject for another day). God uses the meanings of names (of places, of people, everything) to teach us important spiritual truths or to confirm and support what He is saying in the text.

God does this when setting up the Patriarchs of the Bible – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At the start we have Abraham, the Father of All Who Believe (Romans 4:11), whose name means “Father of Nations”. His grandson has two names that embody the path of the sinner coming to saving faith: he was born Jacob – “cheater”, one of dubious ethics – but God changes his name to Israel which means “God prevails”. The names of both Abraham and Jacob point to the seriousness of God, our King, and of the very serious transformation that must take place in the heart of an individual if he is to be part of God’s Kingdom.

But sandwiched in the middle, an indispensable link between Abraham and his grandson, is Abraham's son, Isaac. Isaac’s name means “he laughs”! I suspect that God is telling us that laughter is more than just good medicine (Prov. 17:22) – it is part of His nature. That while no one can see God without faith (Abraham) and no one can come be saved without submitting his sinful nature to God (Jacob), a life without laughter is one that has also missed God’s plan and even His heart.

God created laughter. He created and gifted the comedian. He gave each of us the ability to appreciate the funny, the ironic and the just plain silly. So when you see the craziness around you today, look for the humor in it. When you have the opportunity to enjoy something that is meant to be funny, do so. And when you look around at God's creation, laugh for the sheer enjoyment of it all!