deader than a doornail

A reminder that next Friday, May 9 we will begin blogging through John Frye's new book, the novel, Out of Print. John is a great storyteller, and I think we'll find this story intriguing as to its ramifications for us now. So get a copy and read (not much more than 100 pages) and join us, or join us anyhow for some interesting and challenging discussion.

Have you ever felt "deader than a doornail"? Not sure exactly what that means, except it most certainly means dead, period. I mean feeling-wise when there seems to be nothing much at all inside. And it matters little what you do to try to change that; it doesn't change.

For us in Jesus we're of course still going to have a conscience (and all people have that, though it can be seared or defiled, and no longer of much use) and we'll still want to do and say the right thing and avoid what is wrong. But we can get to the place or experience the time when it is simply hard to carry on. Like everything is an uphill effort. That was most of my day yesterday. We did have a good laughing time over a good number of things at work, but I was left as empty and on top of that, heavy as ever, afterwards.

I wonder what's going on when this happens. I have my ideas. While Satan can be at work in his opposition to God and God's will in our life, God is at work to change our hearts, our affections, our priorities, etc.

During such times we can be vulnerable. If we're tempted in any given area we might give in (which means that it's a good thing there was no bag of dark chocolate Hershey's kisses around here, last night). I was tempted to throw in the towel in regard to something, but instead, as I made phone calls, was blessed with the exchanges.

The faith in Jesus does not always feel good. It's true that the kingdom of God in Jesus is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and in that way we're to live our lives in pleasing God. But to get to that righteousness, and for that righteousness in Jesus to have its way in our lives, often means waylaying matters that are not right or need worked on in our hearts. We need heart change because from the heart we live.

I'm glad in my case that the most recent of this did not last a full day. I pray God will continue to work on me as I know he has more to do, and he knows that better than I. Of course we know God will continue to work on us, and his work of grace is what keeps us on track, and helps us find our way in the Way, hard as that often seems.

Anyone have anything to add to my meandering on this?

hilarity

Yesterday at a table in the breakroom a number of us guys had some good laughs. It was a good release for me, the hilarity, as life and the stress that comes with it, has been a little heavier lately.

I'm a believer in good humor and some downright good laughter, and it's especially nice when something seems genuinely hilarious, as was the case especially for me, today. Some were laughing in part, surely, from the genuine release of hilarity that was pouring out of me.

If we believe God is sovereign over all, then we can afford some laughter. Life doesn't depend on us, and we don't have to carry the world, not even our own world on our shoulders.

Ecclesiastes telling us that sorrow is better than laughter is in its context making the point that we need to empathize with others. Proverbs tells us a merry heart does good to us, like medicine. I know for myself today, it was a good release of pent up inward pressure, and the heaviness left me.

Life is a serious matter. Levity and constant lightheartedness can be the symptom of an inward emptiness or frustration towards life. It can be symptomatic of throwing in the towel as in, "What's the use?"

But at the same time having some consistent laughter and even some occasions of hilarity can indicate a faith and trust in a sovereign God, who himself made laughter. In Jesus we can know that while we live in difficult times, there is a good ending. And that God can take the burden we cannot carry- that in faith we can laugh, knowing he is God.

What would you like to add to this?

humor

I wonder why the Bible doesn't have more to say on humor than it does. Most of us love some kind of humor. Of course humor reflects the heart, so that can be a little scary at times, yes with myself in my craziness, and particularly so in the world when we run into the off-color stuff. Oh, by the way, two of my links are largely on the humor side: Martin Stickland and Lorenzo the Llama. For some good laughs, check them out.

I've heard that Jesus employed humor; it must be a sophisticated kind that's beyond me, though I can see some smiles in my mind's eye over at least one story he told, about removing the plank in one's own eye, and then being able to remove the speck of sawdust from another's eye. I remember one time laughing with side-splitting laughter for the first ten minutes of a movie, then afterwards, scratching my head and finding the rest of it largely unfunny. I did read a review that indicated that its humor was more of the sophisticated type.

We get it on at work in various ways. It's especially good to laugh alot among true friends. We end up laughing at each other and at ourselves, and sometimes get a little carried away in that, but in the context of mutual respect and friendship. I've had good times in such settings. I still enjoy laughing daily, and we have our share of it at my work.

Humor is God-given and can be an indicator of our faith. We can take everything serious in a wrong way, in the sense that we seem to think that life depends all on us. But when we know that we have a sovereign Triune God who loves us, then we can rest assured in that, and we can enjoy some humor, knowing that God is at work in our world, and so all will be well in the end, even when all is not well now.

I look forward to the humor we'll experience someday together in the new heaven and new earth, in God's immediate presence. What a time that will be, and surely humor, especially among certain ones with a special gift of it, will be there and will fit in well with the rest of the wonder of that place and time.

Are there any musings out there on this subject?