00:00Hey friends, so yesterday was my birthday and I got a Frenkel Rock shirt from my family.
00:09Imagine me getting a t-shirt, right?
00:13I'll wear it this week for one of the videos and let me know how much you'll like it.
00:19At some point during the day yesterday, I found myself wondering about something I have never
00:27really thought about before.
00:28How did Jesus celebrate his birthdays?
00:33We know the story of his birth.
00:36We know about Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels.
00:42But after that, the Bible really never tells us what Jesus did on his birthday.
00:49There's no story about him turning 10 or 16, 18, 25, or even 30.
00:58Scripture simply does not say whether Jesus celebrated birthdays at all.
01:03And I think we need to be careful with that.
01:07We should not invent traditions for Jesus that the Bible never gives us.
01:12But even if we don't know how Jesus celebrated a birthday, we know a lot about how he looked
01:20at life.
01:21And that can teach us something about how we celebrate ours.
01:27Birthdays feel different as we get older, don't they?
01:30When we're kids, they're mostly about cake and presents and being excited to add another number
01:37to our age.
01:39Can you imagine that?
01:41Being excited to add another number to your age?
01:46Oh, boy.
01:48You know, later birthdays become more reflective, don't they?
01:52Another year has passed.
01:53We think about where we've been, what has changed, and who is still with us or who is not.
02:02We remember old birthdays, old friends, old homes, different versions of ourselves.
02:10A birthday becomes more than a celebration, doesn't it?
02:15It becomes a marker in time.
02:18You know, I don't think Jesus would have a problem with us enjoying that day.
02:23Jesus went to celebrations.
02:26He ate with people.
02:28He spent time around tables.
02:31His first recorded miracle in John took place at a wedding.
02:35So, enjoy your birthday.
02:39Eat the cake.
02:40Open the gifts.
02:42Laugh with the people you love.
02:45Be grateful when somebody calls, texts, or takes a moment to tell you they're glad you're here.
02:53There is nothing wrong with celebrating your life.
02:58But I do think that Jesus would also help us see our birthdays a little bit differently.
03:06Instead of only thinking, I'm another year older, maybe we could think, God gave me another year.
03:16Kind of changes the feeling of it, doesn't it?
03:20Yesterday was not just proof that I'm older.
03:23It was proof that I've reached another birthday.
03:27I've lived another year.
03:28I laughed.
03:30I struggled.
03:31I prayed.
03:33I made mistakes.
03:35Quite a few.
03:37I had good days and I had bad days.
03:40And somehow, through all of it, I arrived here.
03:45And that deserves all of my gratitude.
03:49You know, a birthday can be a simple moment where we stop and say,
03:54God, thank you for another year.
03:58Not because every day was easy and not because everything went the way we wanted,
04:03but because we're here to live it.
04:07Birthdays can also make us a little bit too hard on ourselves, can't they?
04:13You know, certain ages come with expectations.
04:16By 30, I should have done this.
04:19By 40, I should be there.
04:22By 50, I should have accomplished more.
04:26And before long, a birthday can start feeling less like a celebration and more like a report card.
04:34But Jesus never measured people by whether they were keeping up with someone else's timeline.
04:41You see, he saw the person in front of him.
04:44And he saw the heart.
04:47Maybe a birthday is not supposed to be a deadline.
04:50Maybe it's just a marker.
04:53You know, that's where I am today.
04:56This is how far God has brought me.
04:59And this is the birthday I have been given.
05:03Something else struck me while I was thinking about this yesterday.
05:07Most of us can't remember our earliest birthdays.
05:11But you know what?
05:13Other people were there with us during them.
05:18We had not accomplished anything yet.
05:21We had not built careers, earned money, or proven ourselves.
05:25And yet people celebrated us.
05:29Why?
05:30Because we were there.
05:32Because we were alive.
05:34Because our life mattered to somebody.
05:36There is something that is so beautiful about that.
05:41You see, a birthday is not the anniversary of your accomplishments.
05:45It's the anniversary of your life.
05:50And sometimes that life may have been complicated.
05:54Some birthdays are joyful.
05:56And some are bittersweet.
05:58Sometimes the people we wish were sitting with us are gone.
06:03Sometimes another birthday reminds us how much has changed.
06:09Faith does not mean pretending those feelings are not there.
06:14Jesus understood grief.
06:18He understood love.
06:19And he understood loss.
06:21So, sometimes gratitude and sadness can sit at the same birthday table.
06:28You can miss someone and still be thankful.
06:31You can look back and still appreciate where you are now.
06:37That is part of what birthdays do.
06:41They gather so much of our lives into one day, don't they?
06:45We remember who we were.
06:47We recognize who we are.
06:50And we wonder what another year might bring.
06:54So, how did Jesus celebrate his birthdays?
06:58Well, unfortunately, we do not know.
07:02The Bible does not tell us.
07:05And maybe we don't need to know.
07:08Because the better question may be this.
07:11What does Jesus teach us about celebrating our own birthdays?
07:17To receive the day with gratitude.
07:20To enjoy the people who love us.
07:23To stop measuring our lives against everybody else's timeline.
07:28And to remember that life itself is worth celebrating.
07:35Now, yesterday was my birthday.
07:38I turned 51.
07:40And after thinking about all of this,
07:42I realized the most meaningful birthday prayer
07:46may also be the simplest.
07:49God, thank you for another one.
07:55Another year.
07:57Another birthday.
07:59Another reminder that I am still here.
08:03And that, my friends,
08:06that is worth celebrating.
08:11My name is Douglas Vandergraaf.
08:14And I believe in Jesus Christ.
08:17God bless every single one of you.
08:21Every single one.
08:24And everyone you love.
08:28Bye-bye.
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