Does God have a sense of humor?

"Who put the mixing bowl on the top shelf of the cabinets?" said my wife, Carol, standing in the small kitchen of our apartment, staring at me.

"Hmm!" I exclaimed, looking around the apartment from my position by the counter. "I don't think Clint Eastwood or Mother Teresa did it. They aren't here, you know? It's just you and me, dear."

A gotcha grin covered my face, but silence with no facial expression would have been the proper answer for her rhetorical question, especially since she could not reach the top shelf. My words and grin lit a fire in her.

"Do you know why the Lord put me in your life?" she asked, revealing her frustration with me at that moment.

"No, why?"

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"Because you're never serious about anything. The Lord joined me with you to teach you how to be more serious about things."

"Oh really? I doubt that because I believe it's just the opposite. I think the Lord had me marry you because you need to understand humor. Why? Because you have none at all."

When did this kitchen debate take place? On our ninth or 10th anniversary?

It happened one week after our wedding.

Now, in all fairness to my wife, she only knew me for 36 hours before we were engaged. We were then married one month later. All of our learning about each other took place in a whirlwind of romance and activity connected to planning our wedding. She thought she was marrying a radical believer who prophesied and spent hours praying and studying the Bible. This was an accurate description of me back then. So, it was only natural for her to assume I was a solemn, sober person all of the time.

But being solemn and sober is not my personality at all. I enjoy having a good time and laughing often.

Carol now describes me as a person who looks at life as though it is one big comic strip. She believes I am always looking for a person to step on a banana peel or sit on a whoopee cushion. Her portrayal of me is somewhat embellished, but not by much.

Yet, my books and internet articles are extremely serious. There's not much humor in any of them, but this is God's anointing on my life. This is not who I am 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I still remember May 20, 1985, the day I gave my life to the Lord. One moment, I was an agnostic, preparing to commit suicide, and in the next one, I was a new creation, saved by His love and grace. His amazing love even changed the way I spoke, erasing foul language from my memory banks. When I arose from my knees that day, I was a new man.

The one thing God did not change that day was my sense of humor. He cleaned it up quite a bit, but for the most part, it remained intact.

So, does God have a sense of humor?

The Bible gives a few hints here and there about God's sense of humor, but even then, you have to use your imagination to see the humor behind His Words. There are no "smoking gun" verses showing the Father and Jesus enjoying a comedy night in heaven while eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." (Matthew 19:14)

Most of the time we think this verse speaks of the innate trusting nature of little children. This is true, but I believe there's more to it than that.

Consider what would happen if you put a half dozen 4-year-old boys in a playroom. One of the boys might be Arab, one Jewish, one American, one Mexican, one Chinese and one Nigerian. None speaks the same language as another. The playroom is loaded with balloons, hats, cowboy boots, boxes, old clothes, big bowls of popcorn, gumdrops, and assorted other interesting items. There are no parents or adults to supervise the children.

I guarantee that within a few minutes these children will be giggling and laughing, having a great time without even understanding what others are saying. This is the true inner nature of little children. They love to have fun. And guess what? They are made in the image of God.

I believe God's heart is filled with love, mercy, grace, goodness, holiness, justice, righteousness and quite a bit of humor. To be more like Him, we need to cultivate all of these attributes in our own lives.

"A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired." (Proverbs 17:22 MSG)

Let's lighten up and laugh along with God. It's good for all of us.