We have a Christmas tradition in our family to get a birthday cake for Christmas Day. We light the candles, and then we sing the song:
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear JESUS.
Happy birthday to you.
What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a cake, candles, and “Happy Birthday!” That is what we do for birthdays, and it’s the birthday of Jesus. We want to make sure and remember what it is about.
Birthdays are a celebration. They are a celebration of the person, their life, their accomplishments, and the relationship we share. Most importantly, birthdays celebrate God’s many blessings.
There is no birthday to celebrate more than the birthday of the Savior. Jesus is the greatest thing we have to celebrate.
Celebration is good. We would all do well to celebrate a little more in life. Throughout the Old Testament, God set aside specific times of the year to celebrate. He even created an entire year to celebrate called the Year of Jubilee (see Leviticus 25:10–12).
The Bible tells us there is a time for different seasons:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, ESV)
What this means is that there is a season to work, and there is a season to celebrate. There is a season to plant, a season to harvest, and a season to enjoy the fruit of the harvest.
I am the type of person that does not do well with celebration. I am more focused on tasks at hand than tasks accomplished. I am often moving on to the next thing, and I don’t take the time to celebrate. I need to be reminded that we can’t be all about work.
There are benefits to celebration. Celebration provides us rest, helps us remember our blessings, and motivates our work.
How about you? What do you have to celebrate today? Take time to pause and give God thanks for his goodness.
Questions for Reflection
- Why is celebration good? What are the benefits of celebration?
- How do you build celebration into your schedule?
- What do you have to celebrate?
- Share your comments.
I celebrate life. Listening to the birds or the rain is a celebration. Seeing God’s creations a round me is cause for celebration. Thank you, God, for each day of my life.