A Pleasantry on the Ridge

On the eve of the Battle of Cannae (ca. 216 BC) after the Roman general, Varro, had set out his lines:

"Hannibal ordered his forces to arm for battle, while he himself, with a few companions, rode to the top of a gently sloping ridge, from which he watched his enemies as they formed in battle array. When one of his companions, named Gisco, a man of his own rank, remarked that the number of the enemy amazed him, Hannibal put on a serious look and said: 'Gisco, another thing has escaped your notice which is more amazing still.' And when Gisco asked what it was, 'It is the fact,' said he, 'that in all this multitude there is no one who is called Gisco.' The jest took them all by surprise and set them laughing, and as they made their way down from the ridge, they reported the pleasantry to all who met them, so that great numbers were laughing heartily, and Hannibal's escort could not even recover themselves. The sight of this infused courage into the Carthaginians. They reasoned that their general must have a mighty contempt for the enemy if he laughed and jested so in the presence of danger."

Plutarch, The Lives

At the start of this workweek, do you realize that Jesus, looking out across the world and its waywardness, all its fear and uncertainty, is absolutely delighted that you are part of what He's up to? That you have a part in what He's planning to do? That you, along with Him, can laugh in the face of sin, death and the enemy? 

You, my friend, are His favorite Gisco for the sake of the Gospel!