Milestones: Annual Celebrations of Important Spiritual Markers

Okay, I’ve written a lot about Discipleship. Maybe you’re ready for a change…

I know that everything I post here won’t scratch you where you itch, therefore, I’ll keep trying to change things up and not stay on one topic too awful long. I plan to jump between articles I’ve read, quotes from good books, excerpts from sermons, etc. So even though all of it won’t be a perfect fit for you, I hope a majority of it will be enjoyable for you much of the time.

So here’s something not about discipleship. In fact, it’s really just a quandary I have regarding my own life.

Each year, the Jewish people were (and still are) to take part in the Passover meal remembrance. During the annual meal, the explanation of the Passover was to provide a clear message to the children of the family of the great things that God had done. How well are we choosing important aspects of God’s history and celebrating His greatness? How often do we remind ourselves and our families of God’s mighty power and love?

Certainly we might do so at Easter and Christmas. But even then, how well are we retelling the story?

What else should we celebrate in the life cycle of a year so that we keep telling God’s story to ourselves and to our families?

The book of Leviticus indicated Seven Feasts the Israelites were to celebrate. These were spaced throughout the year, and each feast reminded them of what God had done.

What about us? We thank God during Thanksgiving, but we might not recall any historical aspects. We thank God for our military heroes during Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, but that is a remembrance of them more than of God. We celebrate Moms and Dads during May and June, but again, even if we are thanking God for them, the day really is a celebration of people. So it seems that in America, a country that has often been called blessed by God, we have turned to celebrating the story of our own progress as humans, instead of recalling God’s mighty power.

How can Paige and I change that in our own family?
How could we do a better job of taking some important milestones and using them to talk to each other and to our extended family about God?
Certainly we can make sure we tell God’s story during Easter and Christmas. Perhaps we could also find out every person’s baptism date (or better yet, actual day of salvation), and talk about how God’s story intersected ours on that day. Perhaps we could let each person share their testimony each year?

As I said, I don’t have a clear answer, but I do know that celebrating spiritual milestones are important. This is needed in our lives! What do you think we could do in this area?