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Smiles

Posted by Rick Bates on

This week has been one of those weeks, even with the holiday, where there was too much on my mind. I was having difficulty relaxing. While my spiritual life was good, I felt weary and a bit down. This morning a friend sent me a message that made me smile and lightened my spirit. Here is what I read:

The Patient’s Playbook by L.D. Michelson is worth reading for some common sense principles. Enjoy the humor. . .

I asked myself how to handle life? My house gave me the answer:

Roof said: Aim high

Fan said: Be cool

Clock said: Value time

Calendar said: Be up to date

Wallet said: Save now for the future

Mirror said: Always observe yourself

Wall said: Share others’ load

Window said: Expand the vision

Floor said: Always be down to earth

Stairs said: Watch each step you take

Toilet bowl said: When it’s time to let go, just let it go. . . 

Now you may be asking, “Pastor, what does this have to do with a devotional thought?”

Years ago I read a little book by Elton Trueblood called The Humor of Christ. That book challenges the traditional idea that Jesus was always serious, always “spiritual,” and always dealing with weighty matters with weighty words. Trueblood suggests that Jesus often had a sparkle in his eyes and a hint of smile on his face. Jesus knew that humor gets people thinking in a fresh and insightful way.

I began to imagine that Jesus was witty in some of his teachings. When Jesus states in Matthew 7:3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? perhaps he was intentionally painting a preposterous picture of a man with a trunk of a tree sticking out of his eye while trying to remove a speck of sawdust from the eye of a friend. Just laughable!

A smile can lift your spirits.  Laughter is contagious. God created us in His image. God wired us so that we could smile, be glad and laugh out loud.

Whatever is going on in your life right now, imagine for a moment that an amazing God who loves you is smiling down on you.  Now, smile back.

 

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