How a Christian says Happy Birthday

With the dawn of spring, the attention of all is drawn to the life that is emerging all around them.  It is a wonder to behold – as all life is.

There is a special day in the life of children in many schools, where the attention of all is on the life that is them. It’s their birthday, and they are the focus – even ever so briefly – and they are made to feel special.

I want to tell you How a Christian says Happy Birthday.

We want to recognize a birthday because of what a birthday means.  What does a birthday mean?

A birthday is a living illustration of the grace of God.

We celebrate a birthday as a way to celebrate God.

A birthday means a life.

What lies behind all of life?

God is the giver of life.

There was no life until God made it.

God is the sustainer of life.

There is no life but that God provides the air we breathe and the impetus to our hearts to pump.

We are all living testimonies of the grace of God.

For in Him we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.  (Colossians 1:16-17)

So we celebrate each other in school because each is living evidence – in plain view – of how wonderful God is.

Christians exist to focus on the Lord, to proclaim the goodness and mercy and grace of God.  To celebrate His majesty and our love for Him.  For the believer, the special-ness of every day is expressed in cross-centered worship and praise of Jesus Christ.  And as we celebrate someone’s birthday, we join to proclaim His handiwork – made in His own image – to be special.

So let us worship and glorify Him for His wonderful gift, as our voices cry out ‘Happy birthday’.