The Most Important Birthday

Birthday celebrations will never be a thing of the past as long as
there are people on this planet. Adults and children alike look
forward to birthday celebrations each year, either because it is
their own or a loved one’s. The day is celebrated with a spread
of food, drinks, and gift giving. The most unique thing about
birthday celebrations is the fact that usually, those who participate
in the celebration know the person being celebrated as family or
friend, at home, school, work, or as belonging to a special group.

Around this time each year, many people feverishly prepare
for Christmas; the celebration of the birth of the Savior Jesus
Christ. There are at least three diff erent categories of people in
the mad rush. The first group is made up of people who truly
know Jesus in a personal way. They have known Him through a
personal encounter, they can each say passionately that He is the
Son of God, their savior, risen Lord, and coming again King. This
group celebrates meaningfully, and rejoices as a demonstration of
gratitude for the gift of the Savior.

The next category of celebrants/celebrators knows Jesus by
way of head knowledge. They may or may not be church attendees.
They know Him as a historical figure, born on Christmas, but
they have no personal encounter with Him. They cannot attest
to anything meaningful He’s done for them. They participate in
the festivities anyway, by giving and receiving, being at gatherings
and parties etc.

Th e people in the last group do not have any personal
encounter with Jesus; they have no affiliation with Churches, and
they may not even know who is being celebrated, let alone why.
As far as they are concerned, it’s the year-end celebration. They
celebrate the same way like the others, with food, drinks, and gift
giving and receiving. When it is over, they are glad the stress is
behind them. They look forward to doing things differently the
next year, either by being a bit more elaborate or spending a little
less, or starting preparations (shopping) a little earlier.

Whether people know who is being celebrated or not, it is
note-worthy that Jesus is being celebrated. Like the apostle Paul
said, “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false
motives or true, Christ is preached” (In this case, celebrated). Philippians
1:18 NIV. Jesus’ birthday is the most celebrated, more than anybody
else’s we can think of, from the past or present; the whole world
gets excited. The celebration can be a point of reference when we
share the gospel with people, just as Paul seized the opportunity to
preach the gospel to the people of Athens. He said to them, “Men
of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I
walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN
GOD.’ Now what you worship as something unknown I am going
to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23 NIV). So we can introduce Jesus to
those who celebrate ‘who they know not’, by explaining the reason
for the season, and why His coming into the world is such a big
deal.