Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?
Here’s the scene: Another year has passed, and it’s time to celebrate someone’s birthday. You’ve sent the invitations, chosen the theme, bought the gifts and the food, set the date, hoped for good weather, and even crafted a plan B—just in case.
The anticipation builds. For the planner, for the guest of honor, for everyone who has been part of preparing this celebration, the day finally arrives. Guests begin to trickle in, gifts are stacked neatly on the table, the food looks perfect, and the family is in good spirits—at least for the moment.
Yay! It’s time to celebrate. But… what do we do first? Eat? Open gifts? Mingle? Suddenly, all the options feel overwhelming, and the joy of the moment seems scattered.
Now, imagine this: after all the preparation and excitement, the party takes an unexpected turn. Everyone exchanges gifts with one another… but the guest of honor receives nothing. Shocking, isn’t it? The one for whom the celebration was so meticulously planned is overlooked entirely.
And yet, this is exactly how we often treat Christmas. With all the lights, decorations, presents, and festivities, the reason for the season—Christ Himself—can easily be forgotten. We pour out our time, energy, and money in celebration, but sometimes fail to honor the very One whose birth makes the celebration possible.
This Christmas, let’s take a moment to pause and reconsider our focus. The party, the gifts, the joy—they are all meaningful, but they should point us back to the true Guest of Honor: Jesus.
As a small but telling example, I recently attended a Christmas party at a local Christian school. It lasted over two hours, yet at no point did the program reflect the true meaning of Christmas. The closest we came was a brief prayer before the meal. While well-intentioned, it left me reflecting on how easily the heart of the celebration can be overlooked.
This season, may we remember the Guest of Honor and celebrate Him first—not as an afterthought, but as the reason for our joy, our giving, and our gathering.