Leadership Thought: The Priceless Gift of Jesus' Laughter

Dear Friend,

This picture of Jesus was a special gift that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

It was given to me by a friend who was a member of a church I once pastored in the 80's. 

This past Friday, I visited this church again to participate in a celebration of their 200th anniversary. The visit was a memorable occasion as I participated in their worship service and then enjoyed a wonderful meal with the whole church family. I also spent some time with pastors who served with and before me. 

While there, I saw Don Thomas, a gifted artist who was a long-time member of the church. Don had graciously presented Jean and me with a beautiful oil painting, which I proudly displayed in my office. 

While in his home, Don, who is in his 90s, led me upstairs to his studio, which was full of his paintings. He asked me to pick out one of his paintings as a gift, which I did, but then I saw a picture of Jesus hanging on the wall, and it completely captured my attention. It was the above picture of Jesus who appeared to be laughing. I asked him about the picture, and he told me he painted it because he always wanted people to see the human side of Jesus, who like us, could laugh and smile and express great joy. 

He said over the years he had so many inquiries about the picture that he made a large number of copies, and he wanted me to have one. This picture is now one of my proudest possessions.  

Sometimes we forget the human side of Jesus. Like us He laughed, cried, got tired and yes, at times even got angry, calling religious leaders whitewashed tombs.

We forget that Jesus was in every way like us, except for sin. 

It has been said that there is no more effective testimony of a changed life than a winsome spirit

Such winsome people are just plain fun to  be around. They exude joy, and their laughter is contagious.

As Christians we talk a lot about love, and faith and hope-fruits of the spirit- but we often forget that second on that list known as the fruit of the spirit is joy.

As someone has said, "joy is the flag flying high above the castle of the heart announcing that God is in residence there."

Fun and laughter should be regular ingredients in a Christian's life. These qualities can make us more relatable. As believers, we should be joyful, playful, fun loving, and even whimsical and those possessing these qualities are generally the most attractive people to be around. Who wants to hang with stern, somber, humorless, lemon sucking killjoys who have no appreciation for a few laughs and a little bit of whimsy? 

As Christians, we should be fun to be with. Our personality should pave the way for the building of relationships,  relationships that often open the door for the communication of the gospel.

 So, followers of Christ, let's lighten up a bit and put a little more laughter into our lives. Let's laugh a little more and show the world that those who bear the name of Christ are the happiest people alive. And why shouldn't we be, for we are the possessors of abundant and eternal life. 

And don't  forget that "a joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  (Proverbs 17: 22).

Martin Luther wrote, "If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there," and neither do I.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom