The Call To CelebrateSample

Celebrate People

When we don’t have joy, we navel gaze. We stay stuck within our own perspective and cycle in negativity.

But people who have joy not only celebrate themselves, but they look around and celebrate other people.

We’re often quick to notice what we’ve done wrong. And as we call attention to what we’ve done wrong, we notice what others have done wrong. I believe that as we choose to celebrate people, we can learn to celebrate ourselves as well. 

In the Bible, we see the heavens are always celebrating people. In Luke 15:7, Jesus says Heaven has more joy over one sinner who repents than 99 people who don’t need to repent.

We see Heaven celebrating what one person has done right. We can do the same for the people in our lives.

The best picture of this is further down Luke 15 with the story of the Prodigal Son. Jesus tells the story of a young son who wants to walk away with his father’s inheritance, before his father had even passed. This was basically saying that he wanted his father to die.

The father grants his request and the young son goes and squanders all the money. When a famine strikes the land, the son grows desperate to be back with his father. 

He returns home expecting to be punished. But instead the father embraces him and throws a celebration. 

The father chose to celebrate what his son did right.

Oftentimes, we act like the older brother in the story. The older brother storms out of the celebration and shares in none of the joy. Why? Because the older brother chooses to focus on what the younger brother did wrong. 

In verse 32, the father reframes his perspective. He tells him that they had to celebrate because he was lost, and now he is found. 

We could either be like the brother who doesn’t share in the joy of Heaven, or we can choose to partner with the celebration of Heaven. This only happens when we celebrate what people have done right. 

As we celebrate milestones, the progress we’ve made, the good news we have, and people in our lives, we reap joy. We call attention to the hope that God is working in our midst, and this produces an unshakeable joy.

Today’s modern world is naturally negative. But as we celebrate, we can reverse this pattern in our hearts. We can celebrate because that’s what Heaven is doing right now. It’s time for us to join what Heaven is doing.

Was this Plan helpful? If so, learn more about practical, Biblical joy at https://nealsamudre.com/call-celebrate/.