God' s word says:
"There is a time to be born and a time to die........a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance......" Ecclesiastes 3:2 & 4
It also says;
"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure." Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
Knowing that death is the destiny for every one of us, it is good to keep in one's heart the truth I wrote on a friend's birthday card:
" The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands....he himself gives all men LIFE and BREATH (Happy Birthday) and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men...he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this SO THAT MEN WOULD SEEK HIM and perhaps reach out for him and FIND HIM, though he is not far from each one of us....."Acts 17:24-27
We celebrate birthdays because we have been given "life and breath" as a gift to "FIND GOD."
May we "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." Isaiah 55:6
May our entire lives be used to seek him, to obey him by "loving Him with all of our hearts and our neighbors (all people) as ourselves", to fall in love with him, to learn to revere, stand in awe of him and trust him, to allow him to use us to make Him known to others, and to thank Him profusely for his mercy to us through Jesus......."the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" Acts 4:12, so when that day of taking our final breath comes, we will face it with the knowledge that we have lived our days on this earth with the end goal of meeting God in mind.
May we "rejoice with those who rejoice (on their birthdays) and mourn with those who mourn (as they pass from earth to eternity)" Romans 12:15, and sometimes all on the same day. May we be thankful for it all and trust in the sovereignty of God as we,
"Consider what God has done:...When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other." Ecclesiastes 7:13 & 14
Blessings from Bombadil. Kristy Joy Link
