Joyful
Hope
A time
to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance Ecclesiastes
3:4
I know
that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while
they live. Ecclesiastes 3:12
One
of Spurgeon’s favorite similes on the issue of infant sprinkling Vs believers
baptism, was that he said it is like a hen sitting on a ducks eggs. He used to
hilariously depict the distress of the hen as it watched the ducklings take to
the water fitting to their nature. Although his critics used to reply, if we
were as silly as some old hen, then we are glad we have kept our heads above
the water.
As
the story goes when a woman questioned Spurgeon as to why he incorporated so
much of laughter into his sermons he said, “My good lady, if you only knew how
much I restrain myself.” As the great preacher said, with laughter comes the limit
to which we must all place restraint to where and at what we laugh. The German theologian said Spurgeon’s preaching made God’s kingdom suddenly spring up in men’s hearts but also in their chests as well. Spurgeon believed that it was not a sin to smile and laugh. He felt it was less of a crime to to cause a momentary laughter than a half hour of slumber.
The following are quotes about Spurgeon ;-
The following are quotes about Spurgeon ;-
Spurgeon “never went out of his way to make a joke, — or to avoid one” (Autobiography 3:361).
“His fun was so natural, so spontaneous, and so hearty” (Autobiography 3:361).
His face was “brightened by eyes overflowing with humour and softened by a most gracious and sympathetic smile” (Fullerton, C.H. Spurgeon: A Biography, p. 188).
The
Bible has always condemned people who mock other people and laugh at them.
Laughter may be used for constructive criticism, if we set our boundaries to it,
without violating our neighbor’s rights. As the book of Ecclesiastes says,
there is a time to laugh and a time to cry.
Sarah
when she heard that she was going to have a child well past her child-bearing
age, broke out into laughter. Sarah questioned God and thought can she bear a
child in her old age? God’s amazing answer was, “Is anything too difficult for
God.” (Genesis 18:13-14) This was not a time to laugh but to give thanks for
God’s goodness and loving kindness.
That
is what our attitude should be when we pray to God, we should live with joyful
hope, that God will do what he has promised.
Reflection:
- Let us not laugh at what God can’t do but let us be filled with joyful hope
of what God can do in our lives today and in the years to come.
3 comments:
Sarah because she and Abraham were so old and past the child bearing age laughed. She doubted God and laughed.
In every Christians life there is a time of doubt. When we start doubting God we make mistakes. Those are times when God must confront us.
When Paul was persecuting the Christians, God confronted him. He was a learned man, but unfortunately was full of doubts about Jesus and his followers. But still God is able to use Paul, as his messenger of the gospel. God used all his learning and all his courage for the spreading of the gospel message to many countries and races.
We should take Jesus very seriously, and ourselves not so seriously. In this way, humor is very serious business.
Bertrand Russell,
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1943)
"If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants."
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