Serious – God's character from A to Z

I love a good joke. Maybe it’s genetic. I come from a family of good-natured, fun-loving folks. We poke fun at ourselves and at each other. We have elevated sarcasm to an art form – but our love and commitment to one another is without question. We’ll jab with jokes, but we’ll go to the mat for each other in a heartbeat.

Trace back as many generations as possible, and the pattern is clear. It’s an ancestry of amusement, a parentage of pranks, and a lineage of lunacy, but in an altogether healthy way. Often, those outside our circle of kin won’t quite understand all of the humor or the conversational shorthand we practice. Clearly, it can be hard to connect the dots without having the history.

I am grateful to have a heritage of humor.

Maybe you have a similar funny family. Count yourself blessed, if you do. It’s a super balance for surviving all the stress and supercilious nonsense in our world. And maybe it’s OK to have trusted loved ones bring us down a few pegs once in a while, restoring our perspective and sense of reality.

Nothing is sacred to my clan … except God. And He absolutely is, without question. We may be silly stooges on other subjects, but we are surely serious about God.

God is serious.

God takes truth seriously. He is holy and mighty and sovereign. For all of us, solemnity goes hand in hand with true faith.

This proverb says God mocks the proud. I’m not sure that’s His favorite humor style, but the great Jehovah surely opposes those who target others to raise themselves. He sides with those who are broken and humble and open to His help. He’s against self-interest in any of us.

“He mocks proud mockers, but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.” (Proverbs 3:34, NIV)

Maybe that’s the Master’s mockery, giving self-elevating souls a reality check. That’s not really humor per se.

I think the Author of all good things clearly has a wonderful sense of humor. I would guess His most clever comedy brings people up, rather than tearing them down. Someday in Heaven, I believe we will begin to get His jokes. And I would wager that it’s a fair bet we will be chuckling right along with our sweet Savior for a very, very long time.

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Observant – God's character from A to Z

I love to run out in the country. I’ll log several miles, jogging along the edges of county highways and dusty farm roads and rocky forest trails. Sometimes I go solo, singing along to praise songs (which are piping through my earphones) all the way.

Don’t laugh!

I may be panting, but I’m still making a joyful noise. I am pretty sure one of my God-given life purposes is to crack God up once in a while. He’s gotta be laughing fairly often at some of the stunts I pull, especially when I think I’m hitting the mark, but I’m not. And it’s a fair bet He chuckles to hear me trying to sing, especially alone and a cappella, while I am trudging along in my sneakers.

Forgive me. I digress.

Not long ago, I was plodding along a deserted stretch of roadway. I clomped up over a hill and noticed a disheveled looking man, sort of staggering along the other side of the street. He looked up and saw me and began to cross the road towards me.

This doesn’t look good, I thought. I had already run about seven miles, and I’d just come up a hill (as I mentioned). Stepping on the proverbial gas and leaving the guy to eat my dust was not much of an option at that point. I was leery that he might overtake me. (It's not like I run with money or valuables, but I surely didn't want any trouble.)

All of a sudden, the guy stumbled over nothing and put one knee down on the pavement. He yelped and then muttered something, just as I was passing him. Although I was tired, I felt a little more vigor and pushed forward.

I ran on for a stretch before looking back to see the stranger reeling along again in the opposite direction from me.

Maybe another person would have stopped to see if the guy was OK. But I was alone and a little concerned about safety. Plus, he didn’t really fall that hard. But it was enough to change his mind about approaching me. 

Immediately, I thanked God for looking out for me yet again. I know this story could have ended very differently.

God doesn’t miss a trick. He is observant.

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a, NIV)

Yes, God is keeping track of the whole world at once. He’s watching world crises, ministering to those in need, drawing hearts to Himself, saving souls, and making miracles all over the place.

But take heart. He sees you too. He hears you when you cry out to Him. And He desires to guard and strengthen you. 

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Potent Parent Prayers: Safety in supervision

Kids need competent supervision, especially when they are little. OK, we get that. So do child welfare authorities. Yes, there’s a funny story to go with that. But it wasn’t so funny at the time.

I’ve mentioned in other posts (like this one) that we are an adoptive family. That means we’ve been blessed with children through adoption. It also means those blessed events were preceded and surrounded by intense scrutiny of our personal lives and confidential information. From biological backgrounds to bank statements and from faith bases to fingerprinting, we’ve been scanned and scrutinized.

That makes this story all the more cringe-worthy. Sure, it’s funny now.

Here’s what happened. 

Our oldest was too young for preschool. She was about two and a half years old. I set her up in the childproofed and gated master bedroom and switched on an episode of the dreaded purple dinosaur (who was all the rage at that time), so I could take a quick shower.

Apparently, the phone rang while I was shampooing.

When I stepped out of the shower, I peeked at my kid, who was holding the telephone.

“Who is it?” I asked.

She handed me the phone.

“Well, I’m glad to hear there’s actually an adult in the house,” a woman snapped through the line. Then she identified herself as a caseworker from the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS), following up on the adoptive placement. (They did that periodically for the first couple of years.)

The DCFS lady proceeded to tell me that my daughter had answered the phone. When the caseworker asked to speak to a parent, my kid had told her she was all alone.

“Who is watching you?” the lady had inquired.

“Barney the Dinosaur,” my child had chirped.

I had to wonder what the lady had written in our adoption case file about parental supervision in our family.

Not so with God. Our loving Heavenly Father watches His children without even blinking. He never steps away, and He is always paying attention. He is Elohay Mikarov, the God Who is Near (see Jeremiah 23:23).

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. (Genesis 28:15, NIV)

Almighty and attentive Holy One, we thank You that Your eye is always on Your children (including those You have entrusted to us as parents). Guide us as mothers and fathers, and guide our youngsters to walk in the way You have planned for us – the way that leads to love and joy and peace and more. Guide our children (and ourselves) to Your Kingdom, as You have promised. We ask in faith and in the name of our wonderful Lord, Your Son Jesus Christ.

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