If you ask a group of people to list the greatest changes in their lives, their answers typically include marriage, divorce, moving, changing jobs, birth of a child or death of a loved one. These are certainly significant events, but I would like to suggest three changes that are most significant of all. One is past for all of us. One is past for many of us; and one is future for all of us.

The first one is physical birth. While no one remembers conception or birth, the day of our physical birth was for each of us an extraordinary change into existence and life. We commemorate it every year on our birthday.

The second change which many, but not all of us, have experienced is spiritual birth. Becoming a Christian is a new birth. When you believe in Jesus you are re-born and you go from spiritual death to eternal spiritual life. It is as dramatic and significant as physical birth.

The last change – one which we have yet to experience – is heaven birth. It’s the transformation from this life to the next life. Most often we call this “death.” We tend to fear it, dread it and postpone it. However, someday we will see it differently.

Just as we once cried and resisted leaving our mothers’ wombs but now celebrate our birthdays, so we shall someday celebrate the day we were born into heaven. We won’t think of it as death, but as our heaven birthday – a day worthy of the greatest celebration of all!