Jesus - The Reason For The Christmas Season All Around The World

© May 2012

I wrote this quick article for a children's message when I was attending Church of God services in Spain (over 25 years ago).

At the time, I was pregnant with my first child. This is a sweet dialog transpiring between a mother and her son at Christmas time. I decided not to edit this much, so it's not perfect, but it's pretty much the way I wrote it all those years ago. I am preserving it like this as a tribute to my past, so I can compare how much my writing style has changed over the years.

Jason sat cross legged beneath the Christmas tree, his head resting on his palms. He studied the figures in the stable under his tree. They had the sweet faces of children, but Jason knew who the characters really represented.

Only last night Jason had been at church with his friend Kevin, learning about the real reason for Christmas. Jason didn't have a church of his own to go to. His parents didn't go to church, but they sometimes allowed him to go with Kevin. He liked going to Sunday School and hearing Bible Stories. If he could go more often, he'd learn the Bible verses too, so he could get stars by his name like Kevin had.

"Jason, what are you up to?" His mother asked.

"I'm just looking at Jesus in the stable." He answered.

"What?" Jason's mother questioned.

"Baby Jesus is in this stable," Jason replied as he pointed to the porcelain characters inside, "and over here is Mary, and this is Joseph. These three are wise men bringing gifts for Jesus."

"Oh, I suppose Kevin told you about that." His mother stated.

"Kevin's Sunday school teacher did. She read us the story out of the Bible."

Jason's mother sat down beside him on the floor. She sighed. "My Grandmother use to tell me about the Bible. When I was a little girl, I liked to listen to her tell me about God. She died when I was nine. It's been a long time since then. I can't even remember the stories anymore."

"Do you want me to tell you about Jesus in the stable?" Jason asked hopefully.

Jason's mother looked at her watch. She had a lot to do, and she was about to refuse, but Jason's eager face changed her heart. "Alright!" she said. "It's been awhile since I've spent some time with you. Go ahead, tell me your story." She leaned down closer to him preparing herself to settle in and listen.

"This is Joseph, and this is his wife Mary." Jason said, touching the figures in the stable gently. "Before Joseph and Mary were married, an angel told Mary that she was going to have a baby boy. Joseph wouldn't be the father though."

Jason looked up slightly to glance into his mother's eyes, just to make sure she was paying attention, before returning his gaze to the nativity scene before them. "God was the Father of her baby. The baby would be the Savior of the whole world. Mary was very happy about the baby she was going to have. She told Joseph about the angel and what he had told her, but Joseph didn't believe her. He didn't think God was the father of the baby Mary was going to have."

Jason paused momentarily before he continued telling the story. "God sent an angel to tell Joseph that what Mary told him was the truth. The angel told him that the baby was going to save people from their sins. Joseph was happy too then. He took Mary with him to Bethlehem. Mary was ready to have Baby Jesus, but there was no room for them in the Inn. So Jesus was born in the stable there." Jason pointed out the wise men. "These are the wise men who came to see Jesus. They came from far away. God lead them to the stable by having them follow a bright star, and they brought Jesus presents."

He looked up quickly to catch his mother's reaction. "Is that why we give presents on Christmas?" He asked her.

"You know I never thought about it before, but I'm sure it is. There's a lot more to Christmas than what we've had in the past. You reminded me, Jason, that Jesus is what Christmas is all about. Jesus coming and living the life of a man, so that we can be forgiven of our sins. Christmas is the time we should be remembering him. Let's go tell Dad. I saw him drive up. Let's ask him to take us all to Kevin's church next Sunday so we can all share the most wonderful gift of all this year, Jesus!"

And that's exactly what they did!

Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."