Deuteronomy 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
We have just finished what we often call the holiday season, a season that is highly celebrated. What is interesting is the proliferation of days. We have Christmas, of course, but there are all kinds of other observations, some of them significant, and some of them completely fabricated. You have Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Festivus, New Years, and you have a number of other days that are recognized. I recently heard a broadcast about the proliferation of special days, National Puppy Day, National Cake Day, and National Donut Day.
While it is not always wrong to have fun on a day, to truly celebrate is to remember something. There is no celebration without memory. In fact, in English the word “holiday” comes from the idea of “holy day.” It is important that we neither ignore nor replace the significant of Jesus in any given season.
Not long ago my church celebrated the Lord’s Supper. I say “celebrate” because it was not a party. We were not going crazy or having “fun,” but we were celebrating. We were remembering something, what the Lord Jesus has done for us, and such celebration gives life significance. I’ve said before that there is a difference between a party and a celebration. A celebration demands a memory; a party needs but an excuse.
When you look at Deuteronomy 16, you find that the story of your life should be a response to your memory of what life was like before you knew the Lord. Deuteronomy 16:1 says, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib, the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” He goes on to say that they were to sacrifice the Passover “in the place which the LORD shall choose.” That is emphasized highly on several occasions in this run of Scripture. They were to celebrate. They were to remember. They were to celebrate the Passover “that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”
Can you remember life before the Lord Jesus? Some of us can. I talked to a brother last spring who has a tract about how God took him from a dangerous and godless life to a life of peace, joy, happiness, and fellowship with God. In fact, his story has been made into a tract and a radio dramatization. I thank God for that! What a wonderful story!
Other people have a less dramatic testimony, but God has done wonderful things for them, nevertheless. I remember going with my youth group to a Nashville rescue mission when I was about thirteen. The youth pastor asked me to give my testimony at the mission. I wasn’t prepared for that. I wasn’t a kid preacher. I was thirteen! Was I going to tell a bunch of men in the rescue mission that I was saved from a life of sin at the age of four? Well, the truth is that I was saved from a life of sin at the age of four. There were many blessings I did not miss simply because I was saved at an early age.
Regardless of when you were saved, the story of your life really should be a response to the memory of life before Christ found you. Are you celebrating that? Are you remembering that? Do you know Who Jesus is, who you are, and who Jesus has made you to be? That is grace, and that is worth celebrating every day of your life!