James 1:17-18 — Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Next Saturday we have the retreat for this year’s Living Christmas Tree. But it’s also my lovely Myra’s Birthday! What to do! Well we kind of brought some activities forward — spent the day shopping for a present or two, then out for a nice dinner. I’ve been wondering how God feels about birthdays. I’ve a feeling He probably approves.
I’ve never really connected these two verses from James 1 before, but today as I thought about them I saw a connection.
James 1:17 says at least three wonderful things about God Himself.
First, though God created the stars and planets that are always changing, He is constant — always the same.
Second, God is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
Third, in so many senses, God is our Father:
He is the “Father of lights” — He creates the Sun, the Moon and the stars and, by implication, everything else.
He is the Father of Israel, the literal Old Testament Israel and the spiritual New Testament Israel — the Church.
He is the Father figure in the Trinity.
He is our Spiritual, Heavenly Father.
Now how does that connect to verse 18? What is the best and most perfect gift He could have given us?
The best gift that God could give us is the gift that He prepared for each of us from before the beginning of time — the gift of a spiritual birthday, enabled by the word of truth. Now what does that mean?
The first thing is that He gave us the Bible — His word of truth — to lead us to faith.
The second thing is that He gave us His Son, to lead us out of sin and into salvation.
The third thing is that He gave us His Holy Spirit to lead us through the process of sanctification, remaking us in the image of His Son.
Lastly, He has given us the gift of eternal life. The gift that truly never stops giving.
We are the first fruits. We are dedicated, like the first fruits, to God. We are His first in the sense, too, that we are His vanguard — the first to reach out to others and pass on the spiritual birthday gift and help in the creation of His church.
Like I say — I think God approves of Birthdays. Spiritual and literal. Happy early Birthday sweetheart!