A little nonsense now and then
is relished by the wisest men.
Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Fallon make their living by reminding people to laugh at how ridiculous our world can be. The laughter, though, only promises a momentary escape for most. Hope doesn’t exactly linger once the audience quiets down.

Christians, on the other hand, are a people of hope. Yet we can take ourselves too seriously at times. The Gospel is serious to be sure, but it’s also what gives us the ability to laugh amidst the chaos.

Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

There’s something about being a citizen of a City to come that makes you less uptight about the city you’re living in right now.  Like Paul said, we’re eternal creatures. Life is too long to be worried all the time.

This allows us to live seriously light-hearted.  It gives me freedom to read a book on leadership without obsessing over the way I’m leading. Why? Because one day I’m going to die and go home. My leadership has a shelf life. So, while efficiency and effectiveness matter, there is freedom knowing that those things are a means to an end (namely, the glory of God and the joy of man).

We forget that a lot. I rarely go a week without needing to remind myself on the drive home, “hey, it’s gonna be alright.” It’s my way of remembering who I am; a citizen of another City. (A City that’s way more fun than this one). That usually helps me be more fun in the meantime. There is a light-heartedness knowing all the difficulties and questions today are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

Christ’s love both sustains us and brings urgency to tell others of the hope that lifts our heaviness. Like the old hymn says,

I was sinking deep in sin,
Far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within,
Sinking to rise no more.
But the Master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me.
Now safe am I.

Love lifted me!
Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.

We have a Gospel to share. One where the love of Christ lifts us every day. This current city is tough. There’s not much that’s funny about it. But we’re not citizens of this city. We have Good News.

So, loosen up and laugh a little. It’s gonna be alright.