Christmas: The Season for Children of ALL Ages

Matthew 19:13-15  "Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' And He laid His hands on them and departed from there."

When you think about Christmas, what are the first things that come to your mind?  Let's make a list based on what I think I can hear you saying...

1. Christmas Shopping
2. Christmas Decorations
3. Christmas Baking and Preparations for Entertaining
4. Christmas Cards to be written and mailed
5. Christmas Music
6. Christmas Gifts for a very long list
7. Christmas Present Wrapping
8. Christmas Giving to others in need
9. Christmas Programs at Church and School (although the school programs are now "Holiday Programs", not Christmas.
10. Christmas lists..........

I am sure many of you are nodding your heads at this list and checking them off along with me. Perhaps you have added a few others, and maybe you have scratched a few off.  Some of you are probably already finished with your shopping, wrapping and decorating. Others of us put it off to the very last possible minute and then make a mad dash to get it done in time. Maybe a few are just skipping the whole ordeal this year altogether because it is just too much.

There is ONE huge omission to my list above...The very reason we are celebrating Christmas in the first place...CHRIST HIMSELF!  Well, maybe He hasn't been left off of the list, as His name is the beginning part of each item on the list.  He IS Christmas personified.  Not the materialistic, mad rush of to-do lists part of Christmas...but the precious, priceless, magnificent, amazing, wonderful, majestic, powerful, beautiful, joyous reason for Christmas.  He is Emmanuel, God with us, God in the flesh, in the heartbeat and soul of a tiny, fragile infant, born to very human, trusting, loving, obedient parents in the humblest of circumstances.

And why did He come to us at all?   I can sum up the whole Bible and purpose for Christmas in just two verses:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17

It is as simple as that...God LOVED the world----YOU and ME included, SO MUCH...that He sent Jesus to earth to save us...and to give us everlasting life. What could be simpler than that?  All He asks of us is that we believe in Him.

So, at this Christmas season, my prayer is that we would all come as little children to Jesus, with child-like faith...and embrace the joy of Christmas in our hearts, our minds and our spirits...and share the love of Christ with everyone we meet...and to you and yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!