Did you ever consider the fact that the life of Jesus was filled with celebration? It’s not the first thing that typically comes to my mind. Yet when you read the account of His birth, His life and His resurrection, you can’t help notice that celebration was all around Him. His birth was celebrated with a bright star in the sky, choirs of angels, great joy and gifts. His first miracle was performed at a wedding. Even prior to being put to death, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples.
Why is celebration important? God wants us to celebrate to honor Him and remember all the ways He has blessed us.
- In Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
- God commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Passover so that they would remember the miracles God performed when He set them free from Egypt (Exodus 12).
- At the last supper, Jesus told us to “do this in remembrance of me” as he broke bread and took the cup. He wants us to remember that He set us free from sin so we could have and enjoy our lives in abundance (John 10:10).
It’s so easy to take this gift of celebration for granted. It’s easy to get caught up in our problems, our lives, our work and the commercialism we’re bombarded with. It can be easy to forget that ALL of our blessings come from God. And it’s easy to miss the importance of celebrating those blessings.
As Christian leaders in the workplace, we have a huge opportunity to model for others what celebration is really about – remembering and honoring what God has done for us, especially during this Christmas season. It’s up to each of us to allow God to shine His love and light through us to the people we work with and meet every day. It’s up to us to celebrate our work and to honor God with our blessings.
As you consider what this time of celebration is really about, consider what you can do a little differently this year at work to be that beacon of Christ’s love for others. We’d love to hear about it.
