As some of you may know, I turned a year older yesterday.
What a journey life‘s been. I am thankful for every second God
gives me breathe… I know without a doubt that the same God who has kept
me through these many years will keep me through many more years!
Birthdays for
me are not mare but special days because it is the anniversary of a person’s
arrival to planet earth and that’s huge. I am humbled and overwhelmed for all the
love, prayers, text, face book message and tweets I received. You all are
amazing and I pray God smiles on you every single day of your life.
Out of all the texts I received; the line that stood out for me
was “happy
birthday, long life and prosperity”. Year in year out, the message is happy
birthday, long life and prosperity but if we’ll be honest most of us
don’t have happy lives. Happy birthday
does not translate into a happy life.
Are you the same person you were a year ago? If yes, that can’t be
a happy life. A lot of people are getting older
but not get any wiser. Every
year, we ought to be growing in grace, in knowledge, in wisdom, in mercy, in
love, in holiness, etcetera.
We need to realize that we are not just adding numbers to our age
but practically growing old therefore we must live life in a hurry… not in
making decisions but in living out our life’s purpose. Our time here is but for
a moment…
One big misconception about birthdays is that it is supposed to be
all about the celebrant but NO. True the person was born on that day so therefore,
it’s ok to honor them and celebrate their birth. However, the celebration of the person should never grow to a point where it
exceeds the glory and honor that is due only to God.
Now let me flip
over and talk about something I heard that cracks me up.
I heard some
very religious people say; we’re not supposed to celebrate birthdays because according to
them, the Bible never said we should celebrate birthdays. Well the Scripture is
silence on birthdays but does that mean we shouldn't celebrate birthdays? ABSOLUTELY
NOT! The Bible never said we should or should not celebrate birthdays.
Birthday celebration
is purely a thing of preference. If you don’t want to celebrate your birthday you don’t have to.
If you want to celebrate, do so… you won’t go to hell for it. Birthday
celebration shouldn't cause division amongst believers.
That being said, instead of
concentrating on the outward celebration, we should consider our hearts and our
worship.
The objective in birthday celebrations is to make sure praise and
worship goes to God so to you reading this, do not wait for a phone call, text message, gift, or surprise to feel
special. That isn't the reason God put you on this earth. You were born for
the glory of God so live in light of that.
Celebrate everyday God gives you breathe. You are special. God
loved you enough to keep you alive this long. Don’t expect anything from anyone, but appreciate everything that you
get.
Be more
concerned about living for our Lord and King Jesus. Stay focused on sharing the
Gospel and glorifying God in all that you do. Take time to lead others to
Christ, be content with all God has given you, bear spiritual fruit and abstain
from immorality.
And people, if we have to wait until a person’s birthday before we
tell/show them they are loved and special, then it means they really aren't so
special. Let’s not wait until birthdays
to make people feel special. Let’s purposely set out each day in whatever
way to make others feel special, loved and encouraged.
That said, no matter what length we go to celebrate a person, we mustn't forget that our primary praise must only go to God.
Finally, I want to again thank YOU for the birthday wishes. There
were too many messages so I couldn't respond to everyone individually. Please know that I love you, and I thank
you for sharing my special day with me.
God bless and keep you. ♥
Grace and Peace!!!!
