GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

My son, Christopher, was captivated by birthdays when he was young. His joy overflowed when he saw a “happy cake.” He even kept a party hat in his room so he’d always be ready for a celebration.

Sometimes Christopher would spontaneously designate someone as the birthday boy or girl, and he’d start singing the “Happy Birthday” song. I never failed to see a birthday-designee light up like a candle on a cake when Christopher sang the person’s name. His celebration of each life was infectious; it ministered to those people Christopher celebrated in song.

Henri Nouwen says, “To celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: ‘Thank you for being you.’ . . . On a birthday we do not say, ‘Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.’  No, we say: ‘Thank you for being born and being among us.’”

You, too, can serve others simply by celebrating their lives. And your service to them is not limited to annual birthday celebrations. You celebrate their lives when you let them know how much you appreciate them, when you let them know they’re accepted by you and by God, when you let them know they’re important and uniquely designed by God.

This Jesus-joy in you will bring Jesus-joy to others. It seems to me we need a ministry of Jesus-joy, a service of celebration, as much as any brick-and-mortar ministry we offer in the church today.

So, let me start with you: You are a sweet fragrance to God. He loves you and it brings him great joy when he thinks of you. He celebrates your life, and he wants you to join the festivities. Shhh . . . listen carefully . . . is that someone singing “Happy Birthday” to you, my friend?

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.