HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Verse of the Day
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
—Matthew 1:21
Read Matthew 1:18–25
The room was decorated with brightly colored balloons. In front of Dylan was a beautiful cake with candles on it.
“Let’s sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the birthday boy, shall we?” Mum said.
Suddenly, a girl stepped forward and yelled, “I’m not singing! I just want to eat the yummy food!”
Then, a boy stepped forward and shouted, “I’m not singing either! I just want a present for myself!”
One by one, the children turned to each other, saying: “I want a present too!” “Let’s just eat and go!”
“But . . . ” Dylan stammered. “It’s my birthday!” He let out a wail . . . . . . and woke up. Dylan got out of bed and ran into his parents’ room.
“Mum, I had a bad dream! It was my birthday but everybody at the party just wanted food and presents for themselves. They didn’t
even wish me happy birthday!” Dylan whimpered.
“Oh, Dylan, it was just a dream,” Mum comforted him. “None of your friends have ever been like that in real life, right?”
thatLord,thankyou Jesus was born to save us from our sin.This Christmas,I want to care less aboutmorepresentsandfood,and about Jesus.
Dylan nodded. Mum continued: “But, come to think of it, we may behave like that sometimes. You see, Christmas is round the corner and it’s when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. But, sometimes, all we focus on is what presents we’re going to get and what yummy food we’ll be eating. How do you think Jesus might feel about this?”
“He might feel upset, like I felt in my dream,” Dylan admitted.
Mum said: “Christmas is the one time in the year when special effort is made to remember Jesus, our Lord and Savior, being born to save us from our sin. So, let’s make the effort to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas this year, shall we?” —RW
Reflection
What can you do to celebrate Jesus’ birth? Write a birthday card to Jesus and express your thanks to Him for being born to save us from our sin.