Laughter

Very early in Genesis, there is this great story of God coming to Abraham and Sarah and telling them that He will give them a son. The story is great because God was doing something that seemed impossible - allowing this woman who was a few decades past her childbearing years to become pregnant. When God came to Abraham and gave him the news, his wife Sarah overheard the conversation and laughed; not with a joyous, excited kind of laugh, but a cynical, pessimistic kind of laugh. The kind of laughter that said, "Yeah, right. Like I'm really going to be able to have a child."

A few chapters later in Genesis, she gets pregnant (Ch 21:1 - "...and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.") She gives birth to a son, names him Isaac (which means, he laughs) and then said, "God has brought me laughter (not the cynical, pessimistic kind of laughter, but a joyous, excited kind of laughter), and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." (Gen 21:6)

On two separate occasions, Sarah laughs, but her first laugh is dramatically different than her second laugh. Her first laugh is full of cynicism. Her second laugh is full of joy at God doing the impossible in her life.

In my own life, there is far too much of that kind of cynical laughter and far too little of the joyous laughter at God doing the impossible. It's far too easy to become cynical and jaded in our society, and I've fallen victim too many times to the curse of cynicism toward everything, including God. I want to laugh, but not like Sarah's first laugh. Lord, help me to not cast a weary, cynical eye toward You doing the impossible in my own life.

Waiting

I'm an extremely impatient person. Standing in long lines; waiting for a table at a restaurant; waiting for someone who is late to an appointment... these things all drive me insane. I'm not good at just sitting and waiting.

But when I read the Bible, I find that I'm commanded to wait on God... a lot. Psalm 37:7 - "Be still and wait before the Lord." Psalm 27:14 - "Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 33:20 - "We wait in hope for the Lord." Proverbs 20:22 - "Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you." And the list goes on. I mean, come on, God, don't you know that I've got things to do, and I need you to solve my problems NOW?!? What is the deal with this whole waiting thing, anyway?

This coming Sunday we will be talking about why God makes us wait - and since you are a faithful blog reader, I'll give you a preview of the sermon. The major reason God makes us wait is that what God does in us while we wait is just as important as that we are waiting for. In other words, the waiting is not just killing time, but part of God's plan. The journey is just as important as the destination.

So, I guess I'm praying that God would give me the ability to be patient and wait on Him. Is it okay to pray that He would hurry up and give me patience?

Sex, Sleep, and Snoring

The first command given to mankind from God was one that many people are willing and able to follow: "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number.'" (Genesis 1:28) So, God's plan is clear on the fact that men and women are to 1) Reproduce. Secondly, we are told that Christian married couples have a certain obligation to engage in sexual relations with one another for a purpose beyond just reproduction: "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband... so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." (I Cor. 7:3,5) So, the Bible is clear that mankind is to reproduce (note: this does not mean that a child-less couple is out of God's will any more than a single person is out of God's will. If reproduction was an individual requirement, as some Christians try to proclaim, then Jesus would have been out of God's will) and that Christian couples are to engage in sexual relations with one another in order to help their partners avoid the temptation to seek sexual fulfillment outside of marriage. So, that part of marriage is clear from the Bible.

What is not clear, though, is whether or not Christian couples have some sort of obligation to sleep in the same bed together. In other words, is it okay for a Christian couple to sleep in separate beds or even separate bedrooms? Obviously Ozzie and Harriet were able to get away with sleeping in separate beds, but Mike and Carol Brady decided that they needed to be in the same bed. But what if one partner snores really loudly? Is it then okay to sleep in separate bedrooms? Or what if one partner likes the ceiling fan on Cessna speed while the other partner needs the air movement in the room to be a little less than 75MPH? What if, only hypothetically now, one partner is pregnant, likes the temperature in the room to be only slightly above freezing, cannot get comfortable so she's constantly rolling over, and wakes up in the middle of the night to watch television, while the other partner is a light sleeper? If that purely hypothetical situation were to take place, does the Bible prohibit that pretend couple (who really do love each other a whole lot, but one of them just isn't any good without his necessary sack time...) to hypothetically sleep in separate, but hypothetical bedrooms? Is there a moral obligation on that couple to always sleep in the same bedroom? And, is it justifying behavior to say that one of the hypothetical partners may perhaps be a lot nicer after getting the proper amount of sleep, thus being a better husband and making for a better marriage? Is there any kind of Christian rule on this matter? And, is it okay for just a period of time (like during the last trimester of a pregnancy)?

I'm just asking, you know, just in case the hypothetical ever becomes reality...