Yesterday, a young man from my church walked up to me, put a piece of paper over my head, and proclaimed, “Pastor Steve, you’re under arrest.” I looked up to see the piece of paper had a musical quarter rest drawn on it.
Get it? “Under A Rest”.
I told him, “there’s nothing like a good pun. And that was nothing like a good pun.” We laughed and off he went to find another victim.
I truly love puns. Pun Wars have been a part of my father’s family for a very long time. I share them with my kids, much to their dismay. Some call puns “groaners”, and I think I know why.
“Groaning” is not a very fun word. Groaning means we are in pain, whether physically or otherwise. Groaning can describe us hearing a bad pun or rocking on the floor with a life-threateningly painful injury. But seldom if ever have I heard “groaning” used as a pleasant or even good term.
Paul says that sin is causing the ultimate groaning. In v. 22 all of creation is groaning under the weight of the world’s sin. In v. 23, it is we who are groaning as we await our redemption. In v. 26, the Holy Spirit of God groans it’s intercession for us. And all of this pain, this groaning, is the result of sin, of our disobedience to God’s will, of our constant act of putting ourselves ahead of God.
But the good news comes to us at the end. In the midst of this groaning and pain, we still cling to the Truth that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ because He loves us in spite of this sin. Sin has consequences, but being unacceptable to God is NOT one of them.
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