Unto Us a Child is Born — Happy Birthday, Jesus!
The birthday celebration is on – as children everywhere are running to see what Santa brought them last night. For them, it’s all about the presents and for those of us who know better — it’s about God’s greatest present EVER – His beloved Son. That’s how He celebrates His Son’s birth-day – giving us His perfect gift! Oh, Happy Day!
If you follow my blogs at all, you’ve heard that this Christmas is very different for our family this year. We aren’t making our trek to Austin to celebrate together with my son and family because the press is on to get this Frisco family moved from their home that sold – right here at Christmas – and into their new place by December 27th. We are missing some Christmas traditions because we’re not all together, but one tradition wasn’t missed — our Christmas Eve tradition of reading the REAL Christmas story together. Thank God we live in this technology era. This year, I bequeathed to my son our beloved “The First Christmas Story” book that Papa always read from on Christmas Eve. He stepped up to be our family’s patriarch to take over where Papa left off. So at 9 pm we gathered together in my home here in Frisco and the other side gathered together in Austin and we heard this greatest story ever told again. We all still savor this tradition of making the Reason for the Season the principal thing. It’s a story we should never get tired of hearing. A King in heaven coming down to be our humble King on earth to be familiar with us earthlings as one of us and Who gave us treasures of faith, hope, love, peace, joy and most of all, His life, so that we can live forever with Him.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, my Frisco family and a couple of friends joined me at my church’s Christmas Eve Mass. It was beautiful. Children were singing, families were joined together in honor of this magnificent night when Christ was born. How honored I was to serve communion – the Body and Blood of this Savior Who came to us as a newborn and Who, in a matter of just three years of ministry, turned our world upside down with His rock-the-world teachings. “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44)
Maybe, this Christmas morning you’re having your traditional family breakfast and opening Santa’s presents and seeing what he left everyone in their stockings…..no longer hung with care. Now they’re on the floor, stuffed full of goodies and treasures. Santa’s cookie plate only has a few crumbs left.
Oh, the joy of hearing children’s laughter and the thrill of Christmas in their eyes. If your children are grown, enjoy the sweet memories of past Christmases. If you are missing children and loved ones today, spend Christmas with God’s Son praising and thanking Him for coming to be one of us. And if your loved one is in heaven, like mine is, we can know with certainty that he or she is having the most joyful Christmas possible and a day will come when we’ll forever celebrate Christmas together — forever!
Christmas and the tangible gifts we receive from friends and loved ones are temporary. But the gifts that heaven brings us are eternal. I hope you will receive all that Jesus was born to give. May your Christmas be blessed with God’s greatest gift of love: “For God so loved you and me that He gave us His one and only son.” (John 3:16)