On our way to school this morning I asked the boys "What is Christmas all about?" Isaac said, "Presents! Santa Claus!" "Wow!" I thought to myself. "We have some work to do this season." As we began to talk about it I explained that Christmas is about recognizing and celebrating the birth of Jesus. "Oh yeah" Isaac said. Jeff and I have a very simplistic view of Christmas mainly because we were raised celebrating the holiday very different. I began to question many of the traditions we do "just because its what you are suppose to do". In the 10 years we've been together our holiday traditions are still forming and changing to fit our family.
I then asked Isaac "So, what do you do when you celebrate someone on their birthday?" Of course at some point we will teach the kids that Jesus was not actually born on Dec. 25th but a time our culture sets aside to celebrate. By the end of our conversation we talked about giving Jesus presents and the way we can do that is by giving to others. Jesus says in Matthew 25:35-40 "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger adn invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "
I challenge you as friends and followers of Christ....
How are you gifting the Lord this season?
Do you give your children opportunities to give and not just receive?
Is your holiday season filled with traditions "just because" and you have really no idea why you do them?
Are you under so many obligations that you don't enjoy the true meaning?
Lets take this month and truly celebrate who Jesus is. That He came as our Savior to an imperfect world and died for an imperfect people. That is true love. Let's keep spreading it as we give to others.
One last thing before I close, I heard a message today that really changed my perspective on material things. She said that in all her children's lives there are very few memorable "toys" that they were given. Most of them went in the trash or were donated at some point. However, we can gift our children with experiences and why not take the money we'd buy toys with and gift them with an experience that they will remember always? How very powerful to hear! Our kids still talk about our May 2009 trip to Disney and how each summer we go to Brown County and stay in a cabin. Those are the gifts worth giving that will last forever.
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