by Margaret Radisich Sleasman

Created on: November 21, 2009

There are many references in the Bible about laughter - most of them are not good, which really shocked me when I looked up laugh. Psalm 2:3 says of the Lord: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision." Many other scriptures talk about being laughed to scorn. But then in Psalm 125.1-3 it talks about the Jews coming out of captivity and their mouths were filled with laughter and singing and they credited the LORD for doing great things.

Usually the "laughing to scorn" or the Lord's laughing in those Scriptures is referring to the heathen laughing at the righteous or God laughing at the heathen. So this laughing is really a mocking and not the laughter of joy. To get to the laughter of joy, we need to check out Genesis chapters 17-21. This was talking about Abraham and Sarah laughing when being told of the birth of their son after they were already well past their child-bearing years. At first they were laughing in scorn because it was just a silly thought that they could possibly have a child, but later on, they laughed for joy because they had a child. As a result of their laughing at the thought, the Lord said they would call their new son Isaac which means laughter - in this case the laughter of joy.

One of my favorite verses also has to do with Israel and the return to Zion. This is Isaiah 51:11, "Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." Do notice that it says "everlasting joy".

Also Scripture refers to the redeemed entering heaven where it says, well done; enter into the joy of the LORD. So if we are looking at Scripture, we see that there are two types of laughter - one of scorn and one of happiness. The laughter of scorn is used in judgment terms and the laughter of happiness refers to joy and praise. After the closing of time as we know it, there will be no need for the laughter of judgment or scorn because all the unrighteous will have been judged and sent to the lake of fire.

So getting back to the subject at hand, yes, there will be laughter in heaven; a laughter of joy and praise. Not too long ago medical science proved that laughter was good and helped in both healing and longevity. We know that God created us in His likeness and if we laugh for joy; it is most certain that He does too and He made joyous laughter healing for the body and spirit.

I have a cousin who believes that if we think God has a sense of humor we are committing sacrilege in our view of God. My cousin has a sense of humor, so why would he think that God does not have one if God created him in His image? I realize that we were made to worship God and that is our number one priority; but we need to realize that God wants us happy and joyous now and gave us a sense of humor to get through the hard spots in life. If He had no sense of humor, then we would not have one either. Being created in His image means just that, and if He did not laugh, we would not.

Heaven, being the ultimate reward for serving God in this short-span of life, it stands to reason that joyous laughter would be part of that reward. If heaven is referred to as the "Joy of the Lord" we can be certain there will be laughter and joy once we enter in and that it will go on for eternity.

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