Last week, Darren gave a sermon on being sure of our identity in Christ and in his sermon, he showed the clip of Carly Rose Sonenclar’s X Factor audition clip, where she performed really well and received a standing ovation from all the judges and cheers and all. And he shared a very sobering thought of how nobody would applaud him in the same way because he will never be as good as she is, and the world will never recognize him because he has no exceptional or extraordinary talent. In the same way, I think many of us have similar sentiments and attitudes towards ourselves. For one, when I was watching the clip, I thought to myself, ‘I’ll never be as good as her’. And rightly so, because indeed, I don’t have an exceptional singing ability, and I will never be recognized by the world the same way that that 14 year old girl was.
Using that case, Darren went on to talk about how people are celebrated for their abilities and talents – what they can do – rather than who they are. But God celebrates us for who we are – His children – rather than what we can do (because apart from Him we can do nothing). The other day I was reflecting upon this line that he said, and it really does hold a lot of truth in it. In the eyes of the world, you are recognized for your ability and how well you are able to execute or accomplish something. No one really cares if you are actually kind and loving it’s what you can do. Then I wondered how often people are celebrated for who they are. And then it struck me: birthdays.
Birthdays are the once-a-year time when people can truly be celebrated for who they are. When we celebrate a birthday, we celebrate the birth and existence of the person – who he or she is – rather than the accomplishments and achievements. We celebrate their coming into this world, regardless of what they can or cannot do, and we show our appreciation of the birthday star. Not saying that you can’t celebrate any other time of the year; celebrations on a daily basis would be wonderful! But I guess birthdays give a legit and formal excuse for throwing a party and especially for remembering the significance of that person, and celebrating him or her on that date that person came into this earth.
My own attitudes of birthdays have changed throughout the years. I used to be big on my birthdays; really self-focused because it was ‘my day’. Even if my excitement levels dropped, it would still be about me. (Like even though I’ve only ever thrown one party in my life, all the other years was about what I was warranted to do because it’s my birthday privilege.) So I’m glad this year, plans are different, and the focus is off me and onto others. On the other hand, I’ve found birthdays of other people of varying significance, depending on how close that person was to me. If it was a really good friend, that day would be really special. If it was a mere acquaintance, ‘birthdays are just another day, it doesn’t matter; she’ll get another one next year’. But as I continue to reflect upon the idea of birthdays as a form of celebrating people for who they are, I think I can say that I’ve found a deeper and less superficial meaning of birthdays. It may indeed just be ‘another day’, but why waste the opportunity to celebrate someone for who they are, especially when you have the perfect reason to make it extra special?
