The Meaning of Christmas

Every holiday, every year, I struggle to make it be what I believe it should be. Trying not to let Macy's, Target, Hallmark, and the rest of our society dictate what we focus on. Christmas is the biggest. Santa Claus, presents, cookies, etc. They all seem to take the front and center. But I don't want it to be that way. So how do we make Christmas different? How do I show our kids that Christmas is about God's gift to us. Jesus. The gift that was promised to Adam and Eve after sin entered the world. The gift that Abraham and King David were promised would come. The gift that would save us from our desperate state of sin. What is Christmas suppose to look like? In the Old Testament, God gave instructions to the Israelites on how to celebrate specific holidays/festivals like Passover. Christmas isn't laid out in the Bible as to how it should look. Really the only one that is laid out for us now is the Lord's Supper. So what should Christmas look like to show our children and those around us why we celebrate this holiday? We aren't going to avoid the gifts and seeing Santa everywhere. But I believe we need to be proactive in teaching our little ones about the precious gift from God. I want to be intentional in all that we do this year. I was recently introduced to the Jesse Tree. Here are two links that give information on it:

Jesse Tree #1

Jesse Tree #2

Typically you would start this at the beginning of Advent. But I don't think it is ever too late. There are scripture readings everyday that will point us to the coming of Christ. (Thank you Rachel for sharing this with me.)

In the past few years we have used What God Wants for Christmas. You can look at it here. The kids have loved this because it is a manger scene they can touch and play with. It is something that you can do with a group such as a Sunday School class or just with your family. You can open one box each day before Christmas or you can spread it out over the day of Christmas. There are lots of options.

Another thing we do is bake cookies for our neighbors. The kids help with the baking and the delivering. In the past we have included a book with the cookies such as John Piper's book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, click here to see how you can order it by the case. It is great to include the kids in this Christmas outreach.

I would love to hear how you and your family celebrate Christ's Birth. Please leave a comment.

I know there are many great ways out there to focus ourselves and our families on the beauty of Christ, so please share yours!