Friday, August 28, 2020
Laughter
The author of this book talks about the role of laughter in her grandfather’s ministry. She writes,
“When asked what it took for him to become a Nobel Laureate, he’d say, ‘A big nose and sexy legs!’ before roaring with laughter at his own joke. My mother tells me he used to make fun of how ridiculous aparthied was, basing everything on the color of people’s skin. He would say, ‘It would be like me deciding I am going to judge people based on the size of their noses. Obviously, since I have a big nose, the big-nosed people would have to be better!’’ page 185
While making a judgment of someone based upon the size of their nose or the color of their skin does sound ridiculous, we need to recognize that it is our sinful inclination to do just that. In 2 Corinthians 5:16-19, the apostle Paul wrote,
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
The ministry of reconciliation that we have been given by God empowers us to see things through God’s lenses. Wearing those lenses, we can laugh at the ridiculousness of our sin while still repenting of it. And we can seek after God’s ways, which are so much different from the ways that we would choose to go if we were only looking out for ourselves. Pray for the ability to laugh with God, and follow God into the ministry of reconciliation.
This week’s devotional reflections are based on the book, Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together the African Way by Mungi Ngomane. Harper, New York. 2020.
Laughter
The author of this book talks about the role of laughter in her grandfather’s ministry. She writes,
“When asked what it took for him to become a Nobel Laureate, he’d say, ‘A big nose and sexy legs!’ before roaring with laughter at his own joke. My mother tells me he used to make fun of how ridiculous aparthied was, basing everything on the color of people’s skin. He would say, ‘It would be like me deciding I am going to judge people based on the size of their noses. Obviously, since I have a big nose, the big-nosed people would have to be better!’’ page 185
While making a judgment of someone based upon the size of their nose or the color of their skin does sound ridiculous, we need to recognize that it is our sinful inclination to do just that. In 2 Corinthians 5:16-19, the apostle Paul wrote,
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
The ministry of reconciliation that we have been given by God empowers us to see things through God’s lenses. Wearing those lenses, we can laugh at the ridiculousness of our sin while still repenting of it. And we can seek after God’s ways, which are so much different from the ways that we would choose to go if we were only looking out for ourselves. Pray for the ability to laugh with God, and follow God into the ministry of reconciliation.
This week’s devotional reflections are based on the book, Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together the African Way by Mungi Ngomane. Harper, New York. 2020.
