This morning countless kids are waking before their parents, jumping on them, pulling them from their beds to drag them, half-asleep, to the tree. They run and tear off the wrapping standing between them and their dreams. For them, Christmas is magical.
That magic that makes it nearly impossible for kids to sleep, waking them at an ungodly hour, full of hope and eager anticipation.
Christmas is indeed magical. And it should fill us with hope. But not because of the gifts under the tree…
We celebrate Christ’s birth incorrectly in just about every way imaginable. Jesus wasn’t actually born in December…and due to miscalculations, our calendar is off. Christ was probably born around 4 BC (yes, it seems Christ was born before Christ).
We further messed up His birthday by making gifts…or worse, Santa…the focus. Many Christ-followers with good intentions allow their children to believe in this mythical being who, even if he is based on Saint Nick, takes away from the real meaning of Christmas. We fool ourselves into thinking it’s Santa’s arrival with gifts that makes Christmas magical to kids.
We’re wrong.
Just like we’re wrong about the date of Jesus’ birth.
Why cover up the awesomeness of Christ with some sub par alternative? The truth is so much greater…
I mistakenly began my daughter’s childhood allowing her to believe Santa was real. When she was three (a very precocious child), she asked me for the truth.
This was years before my return to Christ. I wasn’t following Him. I barely knew Him. Yet I believed He was real. But I realized it was hard to believe.
At that moment, I knew. If I wanted my daughter to believe me when it came to the hard things to believe that were real and mattered, I had to always tell her the truth. So I did. I apologized for lying and assured her that I would tell her the truth, as best as I understood it, going forward.
It didn’t break her. And it didn’t kill the magic of Christmas.
I will admit…some parents weren’t happy when my three year old couldn’t keep her mouth shut to other kids. I don’t want to upset people. But their children are their responsibility. Mine is mine. And I have a higher authority to report to. I’d rather upset other people than God.
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28
Parents, if you want your children to believe you when it matters, tell them the truth. Your kids will still experience the power of Christmas. Perhaps in a more powerful way when they understand the truth of the season. Almighty God. The Creator of the world. The Beginning and the End. The Author and the Finisher. The Alpha and the Omega. The great I AM chose to come to us to restore us to Himself. He came to us not to a royal family in a castle, but in the humblest way, as a little baby, born in a stable with an animal’s feeding trough for a bed. The news was shared first not with kings, but with the lowliest of people–shepherds.
Read the story in Luke 1 and 2 anew. Ask God for new eyes to read the story with awe that God would not only stoop to restore us in such a sacrificial way, but for His great love for us to do so. Listen to Christmas songs like “Mary, Did You Know?”
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.”
-Mary Did You Know? by Buddy Greene & Mark Lowry
Then, celebrate the day for what it is supposed to be: Jesus’ birthday. Make it all about Him. I’ve even made Him a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday. Whatever it takes…celebrate what God has done for you and your family and that one day, His believers are going to have the most incredible celebration with Him, because of what He’s done.
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” – Ephesians 4:25
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
If your children believe in Santa and you’d like to tell them the truth but you’re not sure how, start with an apology. Your kids need to see how adults correct mistakes. They need to hear you apologize. And they need to know that they can come to you and you will always tell them the truth. And it’s much better that they hear it from you…
God bless you and your families as you celebrate the real reason for the season.
You are loved,
J F Rogers