My two good friends had birthdays this week. And amidst the celebratory atmosphere I began to think. Are birthdays really so important? Do people who say that their birthday is “just another day” really mean it? Yet Birthdays are an annual marker of our very existence. An existence that merits acknowledgment.I’m sure that some people exist so many years with such little celebration of their birth… their life, that they have lost sight of their own significance: that they are created in the image of God! For his glory! I would say that is the epitome of significant!
Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them. Is. 43:7 (NLT)
Doesn’t everyone feel- in the recesses of their soul, their identity- the longing to be celebrated… to be recognized… to make a difference? I know I do. Perhaps these questions can seem too deep for some and oversimplified for others. But they are honest.
Isn’t it sad that many only experience that kind of acceptance and appreciation once a year… on their birthday? After all, that’s when friends and family are “supposed” to be nice to us. Yet even then, birthdays can be disappointing because loved ones can let us down. And what of those who have no loved ones near? It is easier to convince ourselves that we don’t care about birthdays than it is to experience the pain of no one remembering them!
Well I say, let’s not wait until it is someone’s birthday! Let’s acknowledge those around us with special kindness and consideration every chance we get. I am preaching to myself. I wonder how many people I really see? I mean, really notice them for who they are? Beloved by God! We can take the opportunities to lavish people with that kind of celebration all year long!
Now I’m not saying that we should do away with birthday parties! In the words of the Apostle Paul, “May it never be!” Let us by all means celebrate the anniversaries of all our entrances into this world! Let’s just not stop there. This world is not all there is. Better yet, let’s make an eternal impact in someone’s life. Let’s help others see the reason they were born. Let us help others experience their significance in God’s bigger picture. What better birthday present to give than God’s love in us? I am committed to live daily in the grace given to me through Jesus Christ. Because that is who provides ultimate celebration in this journey we call life.
Isn’t it sad that many only experience that kind of acceptance and appreciation once a year… on their birthday? After all, that’s when friends and family are “supposed” to be nice to us. Yet even then, birthdays can be disappointing because loved ones can let us down. And what of those who have no loved ones near? It is easier to convince ourselves that we don’t care about birthdays than it is to experience the pain of no one remembering them!
Well I say, let’s not wait until it is someone’s birthday! Let’s acknowledge those around us with special kindness and consideration every chance we get. I am preaching to myself. I wonder how many people I really see? I mean, really notice them for who they are? Beloved by God! We can take the opportunities to lavish people with that kind of celebration all year long!
Now I’m not saying that we should do away with birthday parties! In the words of the Apostle Paul, “May it never be!” Let us by all means celebrate the anniversaries of all our entrances into this world! Let’s just not stop there. This world is not all there is. Better yet, let’s make an eternal impact in someone’s life. Let’s help others see the reason they were born. Let us help others experience their significance in God’s bigger picture. What better birthday present to give than God’s love in us? I am committed to live daily in the grace given to me through Jesus Christ. Because that is who provides ultimate celebration in this journey we call life.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Eph 2:10 (NLT)
