"Counting On" star Derick Dillard, husband of Jill Duggar, celebrated his "spiritual birthday" last Aug. 31. The father of Israel David said observing that day was important for him because it signified that he was "born of the Spirit" and has officially accepted Jesus Christ into his life.
"Each person who believes in Jesus for their salvation and makes Him the new Master (rather than self) of their life will be saved from their sin and be born spiritually," Dillard writes on his family's blog. "I grew up in a home that honored the one true God, the God of the Bible. Because of this, I realized as a young child that I was spiritually dead and that I desperately needed Jesus to save me."
Dillard can still recall the day he welcomed Christ into his life. He said his spiritual life began 18 years ago when he was still a fourth grader. He acknowledged that he is far from perfect, but being a child of God means he is constantly seeking to live out every area of his life that would hope to honour his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
"The reason I am writing this is due in part to a particular practice of reflection that my parents encouraged me to engage in shortly after I became a Christian," explains Dillard. "Every year, on my spiritual birthday, they encouraged me to reflect on and examine the past year of my life in order to identify ways that I was becoming more like Christ, but also to recognize areas of my life that I needed to be more diligent in striving to be Christ-like."
Dillard hopes other Christians will follow suit so they can assess their spiritual journey and consider what else they need to do in order to draw closer to God. Just like the ancient Israelites, who were delivered from bondage in Egypt, Christians should always be quick to remember where God has brought them from and what they are striving for, Dillard says.
