Putting the ‘Christ’ back into Christmas has become a popular topic for Christians over the last few years. As our culture, and consequently Christmas, marches ever further away from a Christian worldview, Christians have to find creative and effective ways to remember why we are celebrating Christmas at all.
This is especially important for parents and families. Almost everything your children experience regarding Christmas will have little to do with the coming of Christ. There’s still some semblance of recognition within the community (nativities, carol services, etc). It’s our job as the Church and as Christians to explain and ground ourselves in the reason for the season. Rather than muttering about how difficult culture makes it, let’s focus our energy and time on ‘training our children in the way they should go’.
Here’s some suggestions for how you can do that, this Christmas.
“It’s our job as the Church and as Christians to explain and ground ourselves in the reason for the season.”
Have a conversation. Let’s go to a verse in Deuteronomy 11:19 for a second. ‘Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.’ There’s an ordinary nature to this verse. Paraphrased, it could look like this: ‘Chat to your kids about God when you’re in your living rooms, when you’re havening meals and before they go to bed.’ The best way to make Jesus real to your kids is to talk about him as an actual person. Talking about Christmas and relating that to the Jesus they learn about in church, etc will help ground them.
Actions speak louder. Whilst we often tell our children that Christmas is about Jesus, we often act a different story. Rhythms of family devotions, church going, even little things like saying grace suddenly get dropped in the midst of Christmas cheer. This speaks volumes: Christmas time is about fun and Jesus isn’t fun.. Think about what your decisions this Christmas are teaching your children. For better or worse, they will remember them!
Give differently. Christmas is an excellent chance to show children that giving is better than receiving. You can do this in so many ways. You might want to check out our videos for some ideas!
