In a one-room log cabin in 1809, Thomas and Nancy became proud parents of a healthy boy. Each year on February 12, their son celebrated another birthday, which was special only because he had lived another year. The news wires remained silent, unaware of how much he would change the course of history. More than 150 years later, some congressional legislators wanted to remember his birthday, but that provision failed. It was not until the mid-1980s that states began to officially recognize the birth of Abraham Lincoln as a part of Presidents Day.
Christians recognize Jesus as the savior of the world, but at the time he was born, only a handful of people had any idea how significant his life would be.
We recognize the value of a life after it has been completed, not at the beginning. After we have fought well and have fulfilled God’s purpose for our lives, as the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7, our pleasing the Lord and inspiring others gives us reason to be happy we have completed another year.
On January 10, 2013, Rick Hoyt turned 51. He and his father have inspired so many, they were inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 2008.