Saturated

I love Christmas!  The carols, wrapping presents, a beautifully lit tree, scented candles and having fun.

This is a week when we think about family.  Whether it’s a quiet Christmas or whether it’s a house full of guests, we often find ourselves thinking about loved ones who aren’t with us.  

My dad loved this time of year; he was always ready to dress up as a character from the nativity.  From his amateur dramatics at university to the last Christmas Day sermon he preached in 2020, he was always bringing fun into Christmas. 

This year, our daughter Bex will be in Brazil again.  We’ve had the amazing privilege of being with her for a few days on mission and meeting the children from her project, celebrating Christmas in 30c heat!

We often say that Christmas is for the children, with all the excitement and build up but Christmas is for all of us, whether you have children or not!

This week we begin with a packed full chapter, Matthew 19.  I want to draw out one scripture, verse 14:

Let the little children come to me

I was so excited to see that on Christmas Eve our reading is Deuteronomy 6.  It brought me back to our recent visit from Pastors Tom & Kathy Toney, and their sermon based on this chapter.  The Lord wants our homes to be saturated with Him!  To talk about all that He has done, to pray together as a family, and to let His Spirit fill our homes.

So, let the little children come to me.

This year, we’ve enjoyed reading the Bible with our son, Joe.  Most evenings, as we have eaten dinner, we have listened to the reading and then chatted over the truths we have read.  Our son is 26 years old, but whether your child is 6 or 26, it’s so important that we give time for them to ask and learn.  Are you making room in your household to learn from one another?

I also love how we read later in Matthew 21:15 that the children were in the temple courts.  They weren’t pushed to one side, as we have previously read this week.   Instead, they were right in the temple seeing all the miracles.  In their excitement they were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David”.  I picture them skipping and dancing, saying: Look, that blind man can see.  Calling to their parents: Mum, Dad, look that man can walk again.

Last week in Matthew 18:3 we read that Jesus said we should become like little children.  There is an excitement, a joy, a buzz when kids get involved.  The fun doesn’t have to stop when you get to the “Jesus” part of your day as a family.  This Christmas, let your kids tell you the nativity story – discover what they know and what you need to remind them of.  Let them sing their favourite Christmas song to you – it might be a carol or a holiday song.  Ask them why they like it – discover if they know the difference between what really happened and whether Rudolph really existed!  You could sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before you cut your Christmas cake.

Let yourself laugh like a child; be in awe as you discover the Christmas story again, turn off all your lights except the tree lights and think about the star that shone brightly in the sky.

Whatever you do, let the children come to Jesus this year … and make sure you do too!