Vomit Is In The Bible

When I read scripture, I love to think about God's character. There are verses where we see His compassion, His love and His incredible sense of humor. I would imagine there were times that Jesus' statements were accompanied by a twinkle in his eye. Most pictures we see of Jesus show Him as a somber and almost sad looking man. We tend to picture Him completely serious all the time. However, joy is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and Jesus loved to celebrate. When there was a celebration going on, I doubt He was standing outside refusing to fellowship.

My kids tend to repeat some of my puns and catch phrases. That comes from being around me and picking up on some of my lingo. So I wonder if Jesus was repeating things that He might have heard His Dad say in conversation. Think about God talking about the blind leading the blind as He watched his creation. (Matthew 15:14) Matthew 7:1-5 talks about noticing the speck of sawdust in someone's eye while we have a plank in our own. I love The Message translation of this verse: "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."

While speaking to a group of ladies at a women's event a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of God's humor at times during and after my divorce. There were times that laughing felt so good when my heart was hurting so bad. God knew just what to say to make me think AND laugh in those moments. I was retelling the season of my journey when I started thinking about dating. That was a creepy thing for me in my late thirties. As I began to even consider the thought, I wasn't feeling too confident in my own judgement. So what does God show me in His Word? Proverbs 26:11 that says, "a dog returns to his vomit". That made me think about some of my repeated behaviors in the past. Then I laughed at the actual picture of dogs and how they really do return to their vomit. Funny that God thought of that to make us think and evaluate our behavior.

Please don't think that God's Word is full of rules and criticism. Open it and read it. You may cry over the sweet things that God says to you. You might be encouraged by one of His many promises (there are over 7,000). You may learn a little bit more about who He is so you can imitate Him a little better. You may even laugh because He knows you need it. That is why in Proverbs 14:13 we read, "Even in laughter, the heart may ache." If you have the slightest bit of doubt about who God is, I dare you to open HIs Word. Only God could take the pages of a book with all of its words and meet each one of us where we need Him to for today. That should be enough to prove He and His Word are real.