It's Not Because of the Work

I'm not a big birthday person. I'm okay with your birthday and his birthday or her birthday. Just not mine. And it has nothing to do with the fact that a birthday means I'm older. It's all the attention. What are you supposed to do when a group of people sings "Happy Birthday" to you? Opening up presents in front of other people? That's one of my least favorite things to do. And really, it's just my birthday. Frankly, I didn't do anything. My mom did all the work; I was just . . . born.

Mother's Day, on the other hand, I like. Yesterday I celebrated my second Mother's Day (and my little man's first birthday- hooray!). I suppose if you applied my same "anti-birthday" logic to Mother's Day, you'd think I didn't care for this May holiday much either. But it's much different in my mind. Sure, there's attention - but it's not all on me. There are LOTS of people being celebrated on Mother's Day. There's no song in which you sit awkwardly in front of a cake and stack of presents. And Mother's Day - I feel like I earned it. Like it's a day of recognition and appreciation for all I do as a mom. And I think it's a pretty great idea!

I guess, what it all boils down to is this: I didn't work for my birthday, so the love and greetings I receive seem undeserved. But for Mother's Day - yeah, I do a lot of work. So I guess I feel like I deserve to be appreciated and loved. Make sense?

As I was sorting this through in my head last night, I couldn't help but compare my "anti-birthday" and "pro-Mother's Day" stance to God's love and His abundant grace and freely given salvation.

God loves us. But not because of anything we've done. His grace extended towards us is not a payment for deeds completed. Salvation is given not because of the hard work I've put in at the church or the long hours at the food packing facility. I do not work for His love, His grace, His mercy. I am given His love. I am given His grace. I am given His mercy.

He loves us because we are His (Isaiah 43:3-4).
In fact, He loved us when we hated Him (Romans 5:6, 8)
He saved me as a gift. Because of His grace. He gave that which I do not deserve (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Because of His love - not because of anything I have done - I am a child of God (1 John 3:1)

I think that's pretty awesome.

"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:4-7 (NASB, emphasis mine)