Meaning of Christmas

QUESTION: How can I teach my kids the meaning of Christmas?

ANSWER:

The best and most effective way to teach children the meaning of Christmas is to approach them at their own level of understanding and build upon that understanding as they age. Christmas is the time we commemorate the giving of the greatest gift that man has ever received - Jesus Christ - and that fact should be celebrated each and every day of the year. Rather than a time that is focused on giving and receiving temporal gifts, Christmas should be a time that is focused upon the gift of God and the real meaning of Christmas, which is the redemption and reconciliation of man to God through the LORD Jesus Christ.

We have allowed the world to usurp Christmas and make it a time of emotional blackmail and man-made traditions. We are bombarded with ads and displays urging us to over spend to assuage guilt. Children are brainwashed to believe that they deserve gifts regardless of their parent's ability to pay. There is a way to turn that around and that is to teach children that the meaning of Christmas is that God gave them a gift that they did not deserve and could not earn or merit by "being good" (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is the gift of eternal life, through choosing to accept God's gift of grace. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). For practical ways of teaching children the meaning of Christmas, click here.