Do you think Jesus laughed while He was on this earth? Do you think He sat around the fire pit in the evening with His disciples and chuckled about silly things that happened that day? What do you think His laughter sounded like? Can you imagine Him going along with a joke at Peter’s expense? 

I can. In fact, I think that the Lord came as a “Joy-bringer.” That expression is borrowed from Max Lucado and it is a good one. In his book, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted,” Lucado quotes from G. K. Chesterton:

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again;’ and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grownup people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun and every evening, ‘Do it again to the moon.’ It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike, it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but He never got tired of making them.

It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy, for we have sinned and grown old and our Father is younger than we.”

I love that thought. Christ is the ultimate “Joy-bringer,” and by extension, He wants His kids to be joy-bringers too. During this “stay at home” time, we have been forced to do things differently. And it’s definitely not all bad.

This season of sequestering has reminded us that life is supposed to be filled with joy. Kids are supposed to cry out “Do it again, Daddy.” There should be endless games of Monopoly and Go Fish. Puzzles should adorn the dining room table. Dinner should take some time. Laughter should be reverberating off the walls of our homes.

Mom and Dad should take a walk together. The bikes in the garage are meant to be ridden by parents and kids. Prayer time should include everyone in the family. Meals should be fun. There should be joy filled life oozing out of all our homes.

Godly people have a source for joy. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

So, this week, let’s make a note of the “joy-bringers” in our life. Let’s thank them for the gift of laughter. Let’s appreciate their investment in our personal and spiritual health. And then let’s make sure that everyone around us notices that we are “joy-bringers” too!