This is my wife. Today is her birthday. Today, she turns (none of your business) . In the attached picture, you'll see Shannon is busy working, advocating and attending classes today. In the Coleman house, we want our family to understand that responsibilities are not exempt by any form of perceived entitlement. Birthdays are days we still go to work, we still go to school, we still have chores, we will still go about our day mostly the same as the other 364 days a year.
How should they differ? We celebrate, we buy gifts, we sing. But the message ought to be "we're glad you were born, you bring us joy, so we're thankful to God for this day". Increasingly in our culture, I've seem them become days of self-gratification, self-indulgence, and self-aggrandizment. They have spiraled into multi-day events, treated like national holidays, and capped of with a few emotional parades to solicit affirmation. In other words, we are starving for something...
For the Christian, we ought to know better. Jesus is the only person to have ever lived that deserves all of our glory, all of our attention, all of our praise, and all of our celebration . As for us, we are called to live with humility because we see ourselves rightly in light of the Gospel. Even on our birthdays...maybe even ESPECIALLY on our birthdays! A birthday celebration, in a sense, celebrates, once again, something Jesus has done. Please hear my heart, I'm not trying to take away anyone's birthday fun. Instead, I'm trying to add to it! Make it more sustainable! All of our attempts to celebrate ourselves are just a shadow of the glory of Jesus and all that has been done through Him and for Him!
My wife is the embodiment of the humble servant who never calls attention to herself...so today...I'll do it for her. Happy Birthday, my love, I'm so thankful to God for you.
All Hail King Jesus.
How should they differ? We celebrate, we buy gifts, we sing. But the message ought to be "we're glad you were born, you bring us joy, so we're thankful to God for this day". Increasingly in our culture, I've seem them become days of self-gratification, self-indulgence, and self-aggrandizment. They have spiraled into multi-day events, treated like national holidays, and capped of with a few emotional parades to solicit affirmation. In other words, we are starving for something...
For the Christian, we ought to know better. Jesus is the only person to have ever lived that deserves all of our glory, all of our attention, all of our praise, and all of our celebration . As for us, we are called to live with humility because we see ourselves rightly in light of the Gospel. Even on our birthdays...maybe even ESPECIALLY on our birthdays! A birthday celebration, in a sense, celebrates, once again, something Jesus has done. Please hear my heart, I'm not trying to take away anyone's birthday fun. Instead, I'm trying to add to it! Make it more sustainable! All of our attempts to celebrate ourselves are just a shadow of the glory of Jesus and all that has been done through Him and for Him!
My wife is the embodiment of the humble servant who never calls attention to herself...so today...I'll do it for her. Happy Birthday, my love, I'm so thankful to God for you.
All Hail King Jesus.
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