As I begin to think about getting out the decorations that adorn my house for the Christmas season, I immediately think of all the cherished memories that accompany a nativity that has probably been mine for sixty years.  I don’t ever remember a Christmas without this wooden stable and all of the necessary characters who make the Christmas story come to life.  This nativity has six wise men instead of the traditional three, because the Bible doesn’t specify three wise men… and because I needed extra characters for an Egyptian pyramid project in fourth grade.  While age has perhaps impacted some of the figures, it really doesn’t matter, because the beauty is in the memories.

One of my favorite memories accompanying this treasure goes back to Christmas, 1987.  My oldest son was almost one year old, and he quickly learned that Jesus was in the stable located on top of the mantle.  He would frequently stand at my feet, reaching his tiny arms to be lifted into mine, and state ever so clearly, “I see Jesus.”  There was such delight in his heart to behold that tiny baby in the manger… and it of course delighted mine to lift him up to see the Christ Child.  As I reflect on those never-to-be-repeated moments, I continually hear those three simple words spoken by an innocent child…”I see Jesus.”

As we enter this sacred season, may we take time every single day to see Him, a helpless babe who also was the omnipotent God… the greatest gift mankind could be given because He brought grace to undeserving sinners.  May we take time to see Him with the innocence of childlike faith, as if we had never seen Him before… yet be able to reflect on the many times we have marveled at His provision for our needs.  May we see in Him all the things our hearts long for - peace, love, hope, joy, comfort, grace, mercy… and realize that when He is our source, we are receiving the best available form of each of these we could ever hope for.

If you have a connection with children this Christmas - as a teacher, a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, a friend or neighbor - I pray that you will take this challenge:  Help them to see Jesus.  It will not only bless their lives, but it will bring you “tidings of great joy.”

Minds:
Begin rereading the Christmas story from Luke, but read it as if you had never read it before, even if you have it committed to memory.  What details jump out to you? 

Hearts: 
Plan a time to share Jesus with someone this Christmas.  Be deliberate in creating the experience.