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
About the Author
Daniel a 22 year old English Major at North Greenville University, SC. He is an avid reader, and collector classic literature. He also has a passion for music with over 900 CDs in his libary. He plays guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard, and is currently playing in Christain rock band called Echoes in Eternity (www.myspace.com/eiemusic). He loves traveling, and has to date visited 5 diffrent contienits. Daniel’s guilty pleause is that he is huge fan of Gilmore Girls! You can also find him on Facebook.
