To the members of Faith: This (below) is the "Christmas Card" I shared with you on Sunday after the Children's Program. This coming Sunday will have a New Year's theme during the service, and then we'll all watch "The Muppet Christmas Carol" - with treats! Merry Christmas!
God must have had children in mind when He planned the Christmas Gospel. For the story is just full of the sort of things children like and can understand.
For starters, there are lots of animals: a donkey, sheep, camels. There's a barn with hay, and more animals. Add to that shepherds, angels, a special star, kings with treasures, and a curious object called a "manger." In the middle of it all a mommy keeping her baby warm.
Luke 2:1-20 reads like a play for children to put on, complete with manageable speaking parts and a little carol for all to sing:
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The only one littler than the children is their Lord in the manger. The children learn in this way to go near to Him, love, and trust in Him.
God is nothing if not a teacher, a teacher of children, and a teacher about Himself. The Incarnation (God coming in our flesh) is the single greatest theological mystery. Yet God conveys it in a way understandable to a child. And then calls all of us to "become as children" (Matt. 18:3).
God grant you - this Christmas and always - the wonder, joy, and faith of a child!
