Reason to Celebrate FELL OWSHIP MINISTRIES


by GARY KREHBIEL, FEBC MINISTRIES COORDINATOR


If 2020 taught us anything, it’s how easy it can be to let our circumstances influence our perspective. It has seemed that we are in a constant state of waiting until things get better. It has been tough.


So here we are in the spring of 2021 and it seems


like not much has changed. But as the days and weeks can seem to drag on, Easter reminds us of the hope that Christ’s entrance into our world has brought. The incar- nation brought transformation; predicted in the past, personal in the present, and perfect in the future. As the central event of Christianity, the death and resurrection of Christ merits celebration and remembrance. I hope that this year all of our churches have the freedom and opportunity to celebrate together the hope of our present and the promise of our future.


For Christians, Easter and spring bring hope and


renewal. I want to encourage you to really celebrate this spring. Spring and early summer bring holidays that we should note: Easter, of course, but also Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. And Valentine’s Day wasn’t that long ago. (I will assume you remembered.)


Celebrations serve an important role in life — a bibli-


cal role. The book of Joshua has some of the most incred- ible stories in all of Scripture. The stories of Rahab and the spies, the battle of Jericho, and the sun standing still are just some of the ways that God fulfilled His promise to His people and to Joshua. But one story stands out in its simple significance: the crossing of the Jordan River. It’s a powerful addendum in Joshua 4. The Lord told Joshua to recruit one man from each tribe to retrieve a rock from the middle of the river. Those rocks were placed into a pile for the purpose of reminding later generations of God’s faithfulness to His promises. That pile of rocks was a memorial celebration.


Let’s face it, some of us are good at celebrating and


some of us are not. Some people, due to personality or family tradition, find it easy to celebrate. Others of us need to be reminded of the importance. Here’s the re- minder: We need to celebrate what is good and godly.


It is clear that Easter is something that we should


celebrate. Even if the culture tries to make Easter into a rabbit and jelly bean holiday, we know and celebrate it as the culmination of God’s redemptive plan. It’s true that commercialization drives much of our celebration culture. Some of us don’t like to celebrate “greeting card holidays.” But even those can give us the opportunity to celebrate and affirm God’s design, to celebrate what is good. Mothers and fathers are God’s design. Romantic love is as


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well. Paul tells us to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely or commendable. Anything praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). Those are the things that we celebrate. In the middle of trial and tribulation, we celebrate. We remember.


Celebrating what is praiseworthy accomplishes a number of things:


• It reminds us that there is good even in the midst of all circumstances. For all of the trouble that 2020 brought, we’ve heard tremendous stories of God’s provision and love. Scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances.


• It affirms truth. What is good is what is true as well. A celebration of mothers and fathers affirms God’s design. Things like a gender reveal party do as well.


• It connects us. To God and to each other. Celebrating godliness solidifies bonds between his children as we are united.


• It builds us up. The Jordan stones were the reminder to future generations of the truth that God delivered on His promise. It was to strengthen them for future battles.


Celebrating goodness and godliness also helps us con-


tend with the influence of culture. We are not to conform to the pattern of this world but to be transformed. One of the ways to combat the selfishness of culture is to celebrate what is godly. Social media has increased the need for people to feel affirmed in so many more ways: what they say, how they look, where they’ve traveled, etc. That cycle of pursuing affirmation can become an insatiable hunger.


Cancel culture is an outgrowth of post-modernism.


The desire to destroy institutions and individuals because they don’t measure up to the enlightened understanding of this moment is a threat to truth. By celebrating what is good and godly, we affirm that there are things to be honored and preserved.


So here’s the suggestion: Celebrate. Find something


that affirms godliness and celebrate it. Celebrate as a church, with the community, as a family and in your own life. Look for reasons to celebrate with each of those groups. And don’t be dissuaded by the fact that someone will be left out or feel uncomfortable. What is good should be celebrated.


What will you celebrate today?


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