In some ways, I feel like the last month or so has been one long birthday party. One of the things that happens whenever you have children is they begin to receive invitations to birthday parties. These invitations usually feature the latest popular cartoon character or video game , which gives you some idea what the theme of the party is going to be. In the past, I've been to parties featuring Dora the Explorer, Speed Racer, and more recently, the Lord of the Rings and Little Einsteins. My own son's party, which was yesterday, had an Oklahoma Sooners theme, complete with two cakes (one a football field, the other a football), a football throwing game, and homemade pennants with "Aidan # 6" and "Boomer Sooner" written on them. My wife, mother-in-law, niece, and oldest daughter did a great job pulling Aidan's party all together.
It's very interesting to watch children at these parties, especially the child having the birthday, to see how they interact with others. Here's the basic scenario: (and please realize this is totally written tongue-in-cheek; I happen to love birthday parties!) We take numerous children of various ages, feed them lots of ice cream, cake, and candy, then have them compete in various (and sometimes potentially dangerous!) games like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" (small children running around with a needle and a blindfold?!) and "Hit the Pinata" ("No, swing at Spongebob, not at Jenny!" ). After all this, we bring out many bright colored bags and boxes, probably filled with many things the party guests would like to own themselves (sometimes that's even how the little guys and gals pick out the present, by picking out what the would really like to have), open them up in front of the other kids, then tell them that Tommy gets to take all the toys home, but they can have a little bag of candy. Needless to say, this sometimes leads to a recipe for tantrums, temporary break-ups of childhood friendships ("You let Johnny play with your Bumblebee toy before you let me! I'm not inviting you to my birthday party next week!"), and exhausted parents. I recall one of my nephew's birthday parties when he was turning six or seven. One little guy that was invited to the party was determined my nephew had to open his present first. Whenever my nephew didn't, on each subsequent turn, this little guy would grab the present, thrust it at my nephew, and say "You want to open mine next, right? Right?", at which time my nephew would reach around the little boy and select a different one to open. Even after the present was finally opened (it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Figure), the little boy insisted on thrusting the figure at my nephew and saying "You want to play with him now, right?"
As we grow in the Lord, I wonder if He sometimes feels like He is at a big birthday party with His children? And I wonder oftentimes, even though we are trying to mature as Christians, how often we act like four, five, or six-year old at a birthday party? We get angry when someone else gets the big, brightly wrapped blessing and we seemingly have to settle for the bag of candy? Or we run our lives as if at a sugar-rush pace, not caring sometimes who we run over or knock out of the way, just as long as we win the game? Let's look at a Scripture in Titus 1 that shows the opposite of this "birthday party mentality". Titus 1:7-8 (NLT) says, "An elder (overseer) must live a blameless life because he is God's minister. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or greedy for money. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must love all that is good. He must live wisely and be fair. He must live a devout and disciplined life" God wants us as His children to continue celebrating "birthdays" in our life in Him. Hopefully and prayerfully, we become a little bit older in Him each day. But sometimes, we can still be envious of others' gifts and blessings, arrogant about our own, and quick-tempered when we don't get our way. Sometimes we still lash out, may be not with a pinata stick, but with our words. God desires for us to be the type of men that people would want to come to our "birthday parties", knowing that with us they are going to blessed even as they bless, that they are going to be encouraged even as they encourage. It doesn't matter whether our birthday party themes would be "I-Phone", "NASCAR", "RealTree", or our favorite NFL team. What matters is that we please our Father, and serve those He has chosen to put into our lives for such a time as this.
Please pray with me. Father, I know that when I gave my life to You, I had a "New Birth Day", a day on which You cleansed me from my sins and redeemed me from death and the grave. Father, since that time, I've been blessed to have many celebrations in my walk with You. But Father, sometimes I can still behave like a spoiled child, wanting to hoard my gifts from others and make sure the party is all about ME. Father, help me follow your Word, to realize that by your example, You showed us the party is about serving others. Rather than sitting at the head of the table and basking in "our" moment, may we clothe ourselves as a servant and wash feet. Lord, thank you for helping me grow in You and may I please You in what I do each day. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.
Until next Monday, may you be blessed and do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Enjoy the ice cream and cake along the way!
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