BIRTHDAYS

I recently had a birthday. I won't say how old I am or what happened that day, but the next morning I got to thinking about birthdays in general. Here's what I came up with:

Meaning & Origin

In the early days of Christianity, the birth of Christ wasn't celebrated because it was considered a pagan practice to mark the date of a person's birth. So birthday celebrations most likely had a pagan origin, and probably were based on astrology. Most pagan religions have their own astrological system, and astrological predictions are based on the date of a person's birth.

In modern times, astrology is not a factor in most celebrations. But, as it was in ancient times, the focus is on the individual. The individual receives greetings that could come in a variety of ways, from an email, to a post on a social networking site, to an old-fashioned paper and ink card. The individual could also receive gifts, and/or get treated to a party, lunch or supper. Balloons and special desserts could also be involved, all to honor or to please the celebrated individual.

For the celebrated individual, their focus is often on self. As Christians, we are called to die to self, so the typical birthday focus on self seems to go counter to Christianity. On the other hand, sending a greeting encouraging or blessing someone is a very Christian thing to do. How do we resolve this? I believe the best way is for each Christian to put the focus on the Lord, by reflecting on what He has done in the past year in their own lives.

Oh, if you want Scripture on this, look up Col. 1: 18 and Rom. 14: 5 – 9.

Aging & Attitude

Rush Limbaugh has often made the statement that he looks forward to getting older. That is so contrary to way most of us think. We see old age as a time when we become weak, our senses start to fail us, our memory goes, and so does our appearance. But Rush's attitude might be the most youthful attitude of all.

Why? Think about young kids. What do they all want? They want to be bigger. They want to be able to do things they see grown ups do. Aren't most toys scaled down replicas of adult tools? Aren't most games based on grown up activities? Girls play house and have tea parties. Boys love trucks and trains.

Also, kids want to feel important. Isn't it typical for girls to ask Mommy if they can help with the cooking, or for boys to ask Daddy to help with household repairs? Children see importance in adults' activities, and they want to take part in them.

As Christians, we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Jesus Himself was and is the express image of the Father, so our goal is to become more like our Father everyday. If we see aging as a process of maturity and not as a process of loss, then we should also look forward to getting older. Getting older is not the same as getting old!

Oh, if you want Scripture for this too, see Eph. 5: 1.

I'll leave you with this thought: Statistics show that people who have the most birthdays live the longest.