I experienced a childhood (which went into adulthood) of hating to have a birthday so near to Christmas. Now I have the greatest of appreciation for sharing my birthday with celebrations of Jesus' birth. As a Christian, Jesus lives in my heart so of course it makes sense we would share in celebrations. If a Christmas party happens to fall on my birthday I no longer feel robbed of having the spotlight for the day or evening. I am now in full recognition of the gift He gave to me that is so much bigger than any gift another person could give. It is a gift that increases day by day for it covers all the days of my life into eternity with Him in heaven.
A very good friend and I exchange a postal flat rate box with each other for birthdays and Christmas. The boxes are rather small but have reasonable postage rates so we tend to find several small gifts to fit into each box. This December my friend included a small decorative plaque with the words, "Good friends are like stars---the darker the night, the brighter they shine." Of course those words remind me more of Jesus than of myself. The quote is true on the human level, but it is so much truer in the spiritual realm.
Recently on another website there was a question posted as to who is your best friend. I posted about categories of best friends and then went on to say that Jesus is my very best friend. Some people posted that they did not like to think of Him as a friend because it seemed to lessen His value as Lord and Savior. But I pointed out through Scripture that He calls us His friend if we obey His commands. He also treats us as friends rather than as slaves or servants because He shares with us what the Father tells Him. He has given us His Word! (another of His magnificent gifts to us.) He laid down His LIFE for us, His friends.
May you never fail to recognize the infinite value of the birth of Jesus in the plan of God the Father to save us all. I am ever grateful to God for making me realize that my birthday is of no value unless I have received His greatest gift.
Thank You, Father God, for my December birthday that includes joy over the Savior's birth.
Merry Christmas to you, friends!
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