What Christmas Is and Was
December 28th, 2005 by natalie
My 11-year old sister, Naomi, enjoys both writing and speaking and has for several years now written a short speech to share with the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year were both very low-key and relaxing. Following our traditional dinner of hors d’oeuvres and the yearly search for one gift, guided by the clues my Dad writes for each of us, Naomi shared with us the following:
What Christmas Is, and Was
You all know that at Christmas everyone buys gifts for each other. And we do remember Christ’s birth, at least somewhat, but we get so carried away in gifts and other things like getting ready to travel, and saying we’re not going to make it on time, etc…. I’ve really realized that in the past years of Christmas I’ve wanted all these sorts of things, but I’ve finally realized that I have everything in front of me. I have my family and I have God as my Savior and that’s all I need. I asked for a few things but I don’t need them, because they’re not that important. But the thing that most of you would think is weird is that I’m not very excited about getting gifts. But I’m excited about spending time with you, and watching others open their gifts, and the most important is celebrating Jesus birthday. You know what I’ve found is that it’s a lot more fun to give than to receive, and that it’s more important to give than to receive.
I’m sure all of you know the story of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, but do we really look into what the story is trying to tell you and me? If God didn’t send his son to die for our sins, then this world would turn to death, hatred, and violence, and that’s why God sent us here – so we could share the love that Jesus shared. So that more believers of God would go to Heaven when He takes all the believers of him up to Heaven one day. He’s relying on us to do his work, so we need to share the love of God, in such little time we have. God might not change their hearts, but he will always encourage us to go farther. I ask you guys today to really think about this, and share the gospel of Christ, so that together we might be a resemblance of Christ.
Permission for reprint granted by Naomi Wickham.
