Josiah Road

Birthday Boy-Who? Just Pass The Cake!

posted by Daniel Blackaby 29Apr

It was a birthday party of unprecedented magnificence! Marie Antoinette would have blushed from the audacious extravagance of it. The decorations were stupendous! And the food…mounds of savory cookies stacked in columns like coins and lush cakes with gluttonous lumps of icing oozing down their chocolaty sides. Over in the corner, I spied a hoard of goodie-bags, brimming over like Santa’s toy sack. The party was perfect in every way! All that was lacking was… well….the birthday boy!

The evening had commenced like most twelve-year-old boy’s birthday parties do, the compact room dense with giggling girls and the paralyzing stench of pubescent boys who had neglected to shower. To kick off the celebration we gathered around the table for games. Then it happened. Having lost game one, the birthday boy hurled the table aside, screaming and launching out venomous accusations at all the “cheaters” who had bested him. This unfortunate spectacle proceeded for several tense minutes before his mother bellowed thunderously over the crowd, “Kevin … you…are …GROUNDED!” The awkward-O-meter shot way up! We stood in silence as the guilty culprit was escorted, still wailing, to his room. When his mother reappeared, without him, she nonchalantly asked, “All right then, who’s ready for cake?”

For the next three hours the rest of us partied to our hearts’ content. The cake was chased down by double chocolate chunk ice-cream. I made it to the finals in musical chairs, but was not as lucky in pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. The movie ran a little long, cutting into the scheduled gift-opening time. But as luck would have it, the intended recipient was still in solitary confinement upstairs. We had just completed the treasure hunt when the parents arrived. All in all, it was a fantastic party. When I finally saw Kevin three days later at school, I patted him on the back, “Great party man… we should do it again sometime.”

I still chuckle when I remember that party. Who ever thought of such an outlandish thing - a birthday party without the birthday boy? However, on numerous occasions since then, I have happily celebrated special events without giving much thought to the one I am supposed to be honoring. Sundays, as well as religious holidays, are times to reflect on what God has done in our lives. Sundays we remember the day of the week Christ rose from the dead. Christmas and Easter we contemplate Christ’s birth and resurrection. But how do we often recognize those amazing spiritual triumphs? A ham dinner? Family gatherings? Watch a football game on television? Presents and chocolate bunnies? I mean, I love candies and presents as much as the next guy. But isn’t it easy to blissfully soak up the wonderful blessings from God and forget to give glory to Him? We are distracted by so many things. Let’s keep in focus the many reasons we have to celebrate and be sure to give God the honor He’s due. Otherwise we are just partying.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

Egg Hunt

posted by Mike Blackaby 22Apr

One of my favorite memories growing up is hunting for Easter eggs. Those days are behind me now, but there is something about egg hunts that still brings out the child in me.

This year I was able to help volunteer at an Easter Egg Hunt. I signed up to help hide the eggs, and I assumed it would be an easy task, until I learned one minor detail—there were 14, 000 of them! Surely the CEOs of Cadbury and whoever manufactures plastic eggs now owe our church some sort of thank-you fruit basket.

The hunt was divided into age groups, each searching for about ten minutes. In between, the volunteers would replenish the supply of eggs. However, there was a slight twist. Although several thousand eggs lay in the field, there was one for each group worth more than the rest: The Golden Egg. This egg contained a slip of paper to be cashed in for a giant basket of merchandise worth far more than the cheap treats found in the others. As one group was preparing to launch, a determined father declared, “My brother-in-law found the Golden Egg last round, this time it belongs to me and my daughter!” Sure enough, as soon as the whistle blew, this man raced to the head of the pack. Never have I seen a man run so fast! Completely ignoring the hundreds of obvious eggs, he thundered to the middle of the field, dragging his daughter behind him. I don’t know if he ever found the Golden Egg (or if those grass stains ever came out of that Easter dress), but I do know he was more determined than any other parent to come away with a worthy prize.

Everyone likes a good gift. We all hold our breath when a door prize is drawn, we all have trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve, and we all hope to get a little spoiled on our birthday. However, most gifts are soon forgotten. They are important to us at the time, but are eventually replaced by something new, which is replaced by something else. But what if there was a gift that lasted forever? What if that excitement never faded, no matter how many years passed?

Easter is a time of celebration! The resurrection of Jesus forever changed history and provided the greatest gift this world has ever hoped for: salvation. Although we are spiritually dead, Jesus has provided life. What a gift! Yet how often do we spend our time pursuing lesser things? All other gifts will be forgotten, but the gift of God is everlasting. It is like a golden egg in the midst of plastic imitations; even many thousands of plastic eggs do not amount to the one golden prize. What a tragedy to chase after temporary things, when Jesus offers us eternity.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44