A Humorous God

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”
Genesis 21:6


I adore the above verse. Abraham's wife, Sarah, had just given birth to their son, Isaac. Just in case childbirth wasn't enough of a miracle, Sarah was ninety and Abraham was one hundred years old at the time! It all happened exactly as the Lord had promised (Genesis 17:15-17), albeit a humorous situation.

I cannot help but smile when I hear a baby laughing. I am convinced that is how our Heavenly Father feels about hearing His children laugh. Our God is most certainly a God of humor. He gives us laughter and delights in hearing others laugh with us.

Perhaps the time in my life where God's sense of humor has shone through the most was when I decided to get baptized. I was sprinkled as an infant in the Episcopal church, then after a several-year hiatus from attending Sunday services, I became involved with a non-denominational church. Baptism by immersion was a brand new concept to my sixteen-year-old self. I slowly but surely began learning about immersion. I discovered that the original Greek text of the New Testament used the word "baptizo" when referring to baptism, which means "to immerse, to submerge." In addition, I noticed that repentance and baptism are discussed side by side several places in the Bible. I was unable to repent as an infant since I could neither talk nor understand the concept of repentance. Deep down, I knew that I wanted to make my own decision to be immersed; however, I dragged my feet and avoided the topic for several years.

The summer after graduating from college, I attended a bonfire with friends from church. I engaged in conversation with the young adult pastor, which eventually led to the topic of baptism. He asked if I had been immersed, and I truthfully said no. I then began impulsively spitting out the series of excuses I had stubbornly invented to justify my resistance: I did not want to get baptized on a Sunday morning before the entire congregation, and I wanted a friend to 'take the plunge' alongside me. [Looking back, I realize that these were not even halfway decent excuses, and I hope to never again be ashamed of a declaration of faith.] God heard my excuses, and I'm convinced this was the point where He started giggling, excited for what He was about to do.

I will never forget the jaw-dropped expression on my pastor's face. I knew at that point my excuses were about to be proven worthless. The pastor proceeded to inform me that my Bible study leaders, who had been baptized by pouring when they were in elementary school, were going to be immersed after our young adult ministry's service that Thursday evening. When he invited me to take part, I had no choice but to accept the offer! A few days later, I symbolically buried my sins under the water and rose out of the water with a clean slate.

Looking back, I still laugh about how sarcastic God was that night. He took my excuses, crumpled them up, and handed them right back to me. I know He delighted in hearing His daughter chuckle. After all, He has the best sense of humor in existence!

As to not be misconstrued, I absolutely do not believe that any of God's commands are to be taken lightly. He gave us His Word as a guideline for living, not as mere suggestions. However, He never meant for us to think that He is some distant authority figure. He wants to be in loving relationship with us! A relationship that focuses on serious matters 100% of the time is no relationship at all. My boss even jokes around in the office from time to time to keep the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable.


Let loose a bit. Take time to smile about what God has done for you. Look for the humor that He provides from day to day, and spend time laughing with Him. Once you start looking for His humor, you will not be able to miss it! In the famous words of The Joker, "Why so serious?"