All my life, I’ve always loved a good party, whether it’s was going to a birthday celebration as a kid, gathering with family for special occasions, or getting together with friends simply to have fun. I look forward to these occasions and I can’t wait for the next ones to arrive. In short, I love to party!
Now this may seem like an odd statement for a pastor to make, and yet, do you know that partying is a biblical concept? It’s true. Partying is something God expects us to do!
First, let’s be clear. What we aren’t talking about here is drinking alcohol to excess, participating in any form of recreational drug use, or behaving in immoral ways. What I am referring to is our purposely setting aside time to enjoy life and all God has given us. Real partying is when we choose to enjoy the company of family and friends and the blessings that God has brought into our lives.
We see this in passages, such as Deuteronomy 14, verses 22-29, where God commanded the Israelites to set aside a tithe (or tenth) of all that their fields and herds produced and use it to eat, drink and rejoice. They were to do this every year. Not only that, but every three years, they were to bring it all together for an even larger celebration and invite others to join them. There was to be plenty of food. They could bring wine and other fermented drinks. Basically, the Israelites were to regularly get together and have a party!
Not only that but consider this. When you take a look at Jesus’ life, you see that he spent time going to parties. Jesus would attend weddings and the receptions that followed. His first miracle, in fact, took place at a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Take a look at the gospel of John, chapter 2 to read about it. At that event, Jesus changed water into wine and it allowed the celebration to continue. Not only that, but Jesus would regularly go to people’s homes and have fun. He did this often enough to be labeled by his critics as a drunkard and a glutton, even though he wasn’t. What Jesus did was enjoy life on a consistent basis. He would party in the positive sense of the word.
If we are to live life as God intends, we need to live as Jesus did, and one aspect of
living like this is setting aside time to be with people and enjoy life! Plus, there are
important benefits that result when we party in the way that God intends, and I will cover
them in my next post. Until then, go have some fun. It’s time to party!