We do not possess infallible truths or infinite knowledge, which belongs only to God. We are accepted in spite of our sinfulness and foolishness. We are justified not by good works or correctness of belief but by the free gift of divine grace. We are free to be ourselves. We do not need to take ourselves, our circumstances, our morality, our opinions, our piety, and our beliefs too seriously. I think we can laugh and PLAY!

It seems to be taboo to be playful. I've heard sermons preached from the pulpit suggesting that it is the devil who gives us the chance to PLAY and not God. I think this is a dangerous position. As important as repentance is, we are not saved by our much weeping, any more than we are saved by acts of penitence. Salvation freely given and received is not weeping but JOY!!!

PSALMS 34:1 I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.

PSALMS 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered in shame.

How did Jesus' ministry begin? With what looks like a vacation, a wedding feast. And the high point of that feast was Jesus' turning water into wine. Many pious evangelists would like to turn that wine back into water. As John the Baptist once said, "What kind of Messiah is this?" Is this an example of the "Father's business", which 12 year old Jesus said he needed to be about?

What a beginning. Jesus was eating and drinking with publicans, tax collectors, and sinners.

Contrast this to John.

MATTHEW 11:18-19 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." But wisdom is proved by her actions.

Of course, Jesus was not a glutton or drunkard, but neither was he a John the Baptist.

John's life was one of severity, living in the wilderness and preaching judgment and repentance. Jesus, on the other hand, left the wilderness for the cities and villages of Palestine, ate with publicans and sinners, befriended women of doubtful character, challenged those who were quick to judge and cast the first stone, and preached a message of forgiving love and redeeming grace. He also mentioned hell-fire and brimstone three times more often than heaven.

John's disciples also came to Jesus on another occasion to ask

MATTHEW 9:14 Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

To this Jesus replied,

MATTHEW 9:15 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."

Jesus represented the birth of the new in which all might have life and have it abundantly.

JOHN 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Strange as it may seem some churches tend to mold Jesus into the image of John the Baptist. Christians are more adept at looking and behaving and believing like disciples of John than of Jesus. Jesus is always depicted as serious or suffering. Sometimes gentle, meek, mild, kindly, the  good Shepherd. Central is the crucified Jesus, in tortured agony. A picture of weeping and mourning, divine solemnity. The crucified Lord who cries out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me But Jesus' ministry begins with the festival of the marriage feast and ends with Easter. In between are disappointments, rejection, conflict, sorrow, suffering, and death; Gethsemane and Golgotha. But Jesus' life began and ended with joy, love, and laughter, not weeping. Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, slain for the sins of the world, but who is making the sacrifice and giving the feast? Death is swallowed up in victory, death becomes life, sorrow becomes joy, weeping turns to laugher. What IRONY! What SATIRE! The poetry of God which holds up the contemporary foolishness of men to ridicule! God has a sense of humor and He pierces your heart with it. Who can know the mind and heart of the LORD our GOD?

The weakness of God proved stronger than the strength of men. The chief priests, Herod, Pilate didn't become a mighty force in history, but THE LORD JESUS!!!!

The foolishness of the cross and the foolishness of preaching the cross.

MATTHEW 11:18 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' But wisdom is proved by her actions.

BUT WISDOM IS PROVED BY HER ACTIONS !!!!!!!

Christ's broken body and shed blood is not a funeral service but a thanksgiving, something to celebrate

Humor, my humor, unique, maybe. It is my way of coping with life's lows and highs. I am not trapped in absolute seriousness. I like playfulness, lightheartedness, and laughter. I can be down but never out. My ability to celebrate life whatever the circumstances.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.