So, while I was finishing up their lunch (buttered noodles… yum!), I said, “Eli, that is a lot of stuff. Isn’t it?” His response was in the affirmative, and I asked him, “What is Christmas about?” He responded, “Jesus being born.” I let that sink in a few seconds and said, “You know, I have a great idea. We know that Christmas is about Jesus’ birth, and he only had three presents, right? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. What if we only thought about three things we wanted and wrote those down, and that was all we asked for?” He considered it for a moment and balled up his extensive list so he could write down just three things.
My stance is unchanged; Christ is in Christmas. It exists because of Him. No commercialization can change that. What can change it is our lack of effort to keep focused on why Christmas exists. Now that the kids are older, I want to take them to retirement communities or places with seniors, or programs where families who struggle can experience a little joy in gifts while also hearing about the true purpose of Christmas. Once the COVID-19 pandemic ends, and it will, that is where you will find us every year, loving people and centered on Christ.
If we are not centered on Christ, our children will not be. That is when Christmas has become devalued. So that’s my goal with our kids for ChristThat is something I would encourage others to mas, to show them and, in the future, other people, do with their kids. In this one author’s opinion, just three things about Christmas and its purpose. Santa is okay; he is fun and jolly! Keep your kids Faith in Christ, Hope in His work, and to love the focused on just three things and tie it into why way He did. that number is important to Jesus’ birth and Christianity as a whole. One great example is Merry Christmas, my beloved friends. the number of gifts received by the baby Jesus. Another is our belief that our God is triune and comprises the Father, the Son, and the Holy Scott Dunn is a Christian husband and father who Spirit. Noah had three sons. Jesus denied Satan has spent over 15 years in the telecommunications three times. industry. He is the founder of Talking with God (https://twgpodcast.com), a podcast that seeks to The list goes on, but these are great teaching educate and encourage a closer relationship with moments. I try to look at all the interactions I God. Scott is a northerner who migrated south and have with our kids as a chance to ask myself, has fully acclimated to the wonderful area known “How can I put God into that situation?” Some- as the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He times I can do it well; other times, I consider it, serves at his local church by helping with the probut I am really stretching to sneak a lesson in. duction and online streaming of services. He has a Such as, I have not found a way to weave God genuine passion for the Christian man and his reinto nose-picking and may never accomplish sponsibilities, often writing about them on his blog that. https://justholdfast.com. Here he shares open and real-life experiences so that other men can relate In retrospect, I wish I had enough sense to read to the human condition and how that relates to a about or come up with the “Just Three Things” stronger love relationship with God. lesson sooner. I am sure others have done that. I do not consider it a great epiphany, but it is important in how we approach Christmas with our children.
Click on logo to visit
M AG A Z I N E N A M E &O R PAGE U R L | 24 425
