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.

PAUL'S PRAYERS

For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware,

brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

(Rom. 1:9-13 NASB)

Please read the following passages also. I'll wait. ;-)

1Cor. 1:3-7

Gal. 4:19-20

Eph. 1:15-23

Php. 1:3-11

Col. 1:3-12

1Thess. 1:2-8

2Thess. 1:2-4

2Tim. 1:2-6

Titus 1:4

Philemon 3-7

Are you catching a theme here? Everyone that we know for sure that Paul wrote to, he prayed for, or he pronounced blessings on them. The letter to the Galatians is the only one where he did not specifically say that he prayed for them, but he did say that he labored over them so that Christ would be formed in them. The chances that his labor did NOT include prayer are slim, fat and none.

Now, we could get all religious and say that this is an example for ministers to follow, and that would have some truth behind it, but it would too easily become a rule imposed by the flesh, upon the flesh, to produce an appearance of spirituality.

But take a closer look at those verses. What is really in Paul's heart? FAMILY!

What does family actually mean in this case? Obviously, Paul is not talking about the typical family structure of father, mother, and children.

I have observed that people in certain groups or professions refer to each other as family. For example, to every firefighter, every other firefighter is a brother (or sister). They don't care whether the other firefighters are active or retired, volunteer or professional. Neither do they care about which department they belong to, their particular assignment, experience, or where or how they got their training. They also don't care about each others' race, ethnicity, religion or political affiliations.

Introduce a firefighter from Boston to a Forestry Service smoke eater from the Pacific

Northwest, and they'll immediately see each other as brothers.

Why? Because they have a relationship, a common bond, that goes beyond formal

connections.

I have also seen this and experienced it among military veterans. Sad to say, but I would trust my life to some of the guys I served with in the National Guard before I would trust some TV preachers.

Why doesn't the Church act more like the family it is? We act too much like a natural family: barely functional at best, abusive at the worst. More than one factor probably plays a role in this, but religion and immaturity are most likely the two biggest factors.

What can we do to change this? Maybe start with Paul's example and start praying, by name, and individually, for churches and believers that we personally know. Besides keeping us busy, it will forge stronger bonds of love within and between us.

And while we're at it, let's do the same for the ones we know are operating in or promoting error. That will be the best thing we can do to get them out of it and back into love and truth.