Whose Birthday Is It Anyway? Here’s the scene: Another year has rolled around and it’s time to celebrate another birthday for whoever may be on your mind at this point. You’ve sent the invites, chosen the theme (oh my), bought the gifts and food, set aside the time and date, hoped for good weather, and created a plan ‘B’.

So, the anticipation is now becoming a reality for the planner and the recipient for all the work put into the planning of the party. The time is upon you, the guests are arriving, the gifts are being stacked on the table, the food is perfectly displayed and the family is now in a good mood only driven by necessity.

Yay, it’s time to celebrate! What do we do first? Eat? No, how about open gifts? No, let’s mingle. No, oh my what should we do?

As I think about this issue and its relation to Christmas, dwell upon this thought! The party aforementioned with all its preparation takes an unexpected turn! The attendees of the party exchange a gift with each other but the guest of honor receives nothing. Wow, what a travesty! But, but, the one for whom the celebration has been so meticulously organized should receive gifts, you may inject.

Really? We, as Christians, conduct ourselves in this very fashion every Christmas. With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Christmas season, Christ is readily forgotten. We spend time, money, and effort, on this season of giving and intently forget the One that makes any celebration possible. The “party”, Christmas, is to celebrate His magnificent birth but, yet, He receives no gifts.

The challenge is to reconsider our feeble efforts during Christmas and strive to not forget the Guest of Honor, Jesus.

Just as a side note, I recently attended a Christmas party at a local Christian school and at no point during the 2 hours was there an inkling of the true meaning of Christmas. The closest activity to make one think this was a Christian school was the prayer before the meal. Sad!