What I have realized about life is that it’s not always about me. When I learned to celebrate the success of others, it allowed me to grow as a person. I started doing this prior to having a relationship with Jesus Christ. When I gave Him my life and began to serve in the Church I was expecting this view to be a norm. There were a number of people that would embrace those that came forward to give their lives to Christ. They had no issue celebrating how others were being blessed. However, there were a few that would whisper in the corner about what that person used to do.
They would not celebrate, but sit there as though nothing had happened. This reminds me of the brother of the prodigal son in Luke 15:25-32. When the elder son came home and heard the music and dancing inside, he called one of the slaves to find out what was going on. When he realized they were celebrating the return of his brother, he would not go into the house. His father came out and pleaded with him to come in, but the son refused. He shared with his father how hard he worked and never disobeyed his fathers commands. Also, the father never gave him a young goat to celebrate with his friends. The elder son felt the father did not reward him for his lifetime of commitment. Then the son begins to outline the actions of his younger brother, and now that he’s back home – you celebrate his return.
The father explained to the son: we are celebrating life because your brother had chosen the path that leads to death. He was consumed by the chosen path, he changed direction and came back home. The celebration is about your younger brother making the right choice to come back home. His decision would have lead to his death because he was lost. He realized where he was going would not help, but hurt him. The father was showing his son there is value in celebrating God blessing others.
Starting right now I want you to make it your business to celebrate God blessing those around you. When you do, it will free you from being selfish and be more selfless. Think about this, who was more selfless than Jesus? When He came into the world, it was filled with selfish people, but He stayed selfless to teach us the need to serve others. You can’t serve others if you feel all blessings should come to you, because you are always doing as instructed by God. God has more than enough blessings for everybody. Remember, God does not need your permission to bless others. Oh, you need to remember you were not deserving of the blessings you received when you first came. The celebration is all about choosing life, because you were on the path that leads to death. There is value in celebrating God blessing others. Be blessed!
