Dear friends and members of Grace Baptist,

“To me, there are three things everyone should do every day.  Number one is laughter.  Number two is thought – spend some time in thought.  Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears.  If you laugh, think, and cry, that’s a heck of a day.”—Jim Valvano.

This is one of my favorite quotes—laughing, thinking, and crying make for a heck of a day.  Valvano said that if “you do that for seven days, you’ll have something special.”  I would say you would have a life well lived.  As I write this pondering, I realize I spend time in thought every day, perhaps too much time.  I know I am often moved to tears, but what about laughter?  Do I laugh every day?  What about you?

We continue our sermon series with Abraham and Sarah this Sunday. In our scripture passage, we encounter Sarah, and I presume Abraham laughing again; they even name their child “Laughter,” which is what Isaac means in Hebrew.  Wouldn’t you do the same if you had a child at 90 years of age?

You’ll recall a few Sundays ago, and we heard Sarah laugh (Genesis 18:12-13) when she overheard the promise that she would bear a son to Abraham.  In our scripture this Sunday from Genesis 21:1-7, after her son Isaac was born, Sarah says, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”

Previously Abraham and Sarah had laughed either in wonder or doubt/disbelief (it’s debatable), but now after the birth of Isaac, like any new parent, they laugh in praise and joy.  They laugh because God “did for Sarah what God had promised” (Genesis 21:1).  Through this story, we encounter a God who keeps promises, a God who makes laughter because God breaks the grip of death, hopelessness, and barrenness.  This Sunday, we’ll enter this ancient story together and ponder some of its applications to our life of faith today.

Pastor David