This blog is being posted on my birthday. It is noteworthy that I was born so close to the winter solstice.

I once asked my sister, “Did you notice that the days kept getting shorter and darker until I was born, and then the days began to get longer and brighter?”

She said, “No, I had not noticed that. But I had noticed that when you were born, it was the darkest day of the year.”

It all depends on your perspective.

I once asked my mother which of her three children was her favorite.

She said that I was special because I had come home from the hospital on Christmas Eve.

But then she said that my sister was special because she was born first. And my brother was special because he was born last.

Mom should have been a diplomat.

It is appropriate to show some sympathy for those born in the last days of December. Their birthdays are always overshadowed by Someone Else’s birthday. They often get just one present instead of two. And in those hectic days, no one is going to volunteer to organize another party.

The Bible tells us that those of us who believe in Jesus become children of God.

But it is not always easy having Jesus as your older brother.

I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about that other James. The one in the Bible. It can’t have been easy for him. Imagine growing up being constantly compared to Jesus. “Your older brother wouldn’t have done that.” “Your older brother would have handled that better.” Definitely tough. Even though James knew his older brother loved him as only Jesus can love.

James clearly struggled. At one point, he thought Jesus was crazy (Mark 3:20-21). He didn’t believe in Jesus (John 7:5). But then Jesus appeared to him after He had been resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:7).

In the end, James became a leader in Jesus’ church and described himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).

Being in Jesus’ shadow is not such a bad place to be. We are protected there. He set a good example for us to follow. He loves us and saves us. It is pretty wonderful having Jesus as our older brother.