Picture
Because I grew up in the church, I’ve seen a lot of pictures of Jesus. Jesus praying on a hillside. Jesus holding out his hand. Jesus hanging on the cross. Jesus watching over sheep. Jesus healing a blind man. Jesus walking on water. Jesus. He’s so serious.  

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining that these paintings are objectionable. I’m sure each of them in their own way, captures a part of who Jesus is. But what I never see is a picture of Jesus laughing. I mean, head back, eyes shining, mouth opened laughing. At least until I saw this one.

I may sound mad, but I want to worship a God that knows how to have a good laugh. That’s why I love this picture of Jesus so much.  

Why is Jesus laughing? Did one of his disciples Peter just tell a joke? Was Peter the joke? Did Jesus punk one of his friends? Please, leave your ideas of why you think Jesus would laugh.

 


Comments

Heidi CounsellSchmidt
03/08/2011 4:53pm

I think Jesus would laugh at us arguing over hotdogs. hehe.

Actually, my dad has always pointed to all the zany-looking creatures in the world as evidence of God's sense of humor.

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Dan Beal
03/10/2011 2:27pm

Maybe it was the time God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? "Dude I was just kidding! You were really going to sacrifice him weren't you?" Although, I don't think God would actually say dude.

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Gloria Batts
03/30/2011 7:04am

I think when Jesus' disciples put out the net where Jesus told them to fish and they caught so many fish that they could barely handle the load, he laughed as he watched them happily struggling with the bounty. You see, I have a couple of fishermen in my family and I have seen their joy at catching even a 6 pound Bass. If you are a parent, that fishing scene may remind you of how your kids feel on Christmas morning and how you smile and laugh watching them struggling to decide which gift to open first and which to play with first.

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03/30/2011 7:56am

Gloria, I love your vision of that story! It put a real smile on my face. How much joy God must have in seeing his miracles mystify us!

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