Fellow Saints,
Last November, I sent an email to help you see that birthdays are bigger deals than presidential elections. One year later, God has graced me with another birthday (for those who are curious, this is the 58th anniversary of my birth).
This is the third edition of the “birthday email”, and with each one I am asking you to consider a new way of thinking about birthdays. I invite you to join me in resisting the tired humor of regretting yet another birthday, and turning your birthday into a great day of rejoicing for God’s gift of life.
In November 2011, I first repented of being spiritually short-sighted about birthdays, and gave you seven reasons why birthdays are a time for celebrating God’s goodness. There are more, but seven is a biblical number, so here are those seven reasons (written from the perspective of being a believer in Jesus Christ):
1. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who gives me life and breath and everything. (Acts 17.25)
2. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who has chosen me by His grace to be His child. (Eph1.4-6 and 2.8-9) What greater gift can a birthday boy (or girl) ever receive than the gift of eternal life!
3. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who has given me a wife who loves me second only to God Himself (Gen 2.18 and 24)
4. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who has given me a fine son and four grandchildren. (Ps 127.3 and Prov 17.6)
5. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who has called me to preach & teach the gospel. (2 Tim 4.2) And, this is all the more amazing because I know that I am not worthy of such a high & great privilege. (2 Cor 4.7)
6. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who has placed me in a church that loves Him and appreciates me. (Phil 1.3-11)
7. Birthdays are a big deal because they remind me I live for a God who will never forsake me and will never let me fall away. (Rom 8.31-39)
Every birthday is a big deal because it marks the beginning of another year to live for the glory of a great and good God. (Exodus 34.6-7) The best birthday gift I or anyone could ever receive is to have a relationship with that God. (Ps 32.1; Ps 103.8-14; and many others)
As I think about my birthday in these ways my mind is drawn to the greatest birthday ever – the birthday of Jesus. As the calendar invites our thoughts to His birthday, I pray it will help all of us who follow Jesus remember that – in Christ – every birthday is a happy birthday.
Pastor Gary