Some years ago, I did a series of sermons during the Christmas season on the nostalgia of Christmas and entitled it “Christmas is for Kids.” I came up with that title myself, believe it or not, and then I did an internet search and found that there is an entire foundation with that name, established to make sure that all kids have a very merry Christmas. Their website explains it this way: “We are an all-volunteer run, gift-giving program that assists children who would otherwise go without a gift on Christmas Day.” We have always supported the “Angel Tree” program which is Chuck Colson’s initiative to make sure that the kids whose parents are in prison receive gifts at Christmas time also. It does seem that the focus of Christmas is children. But it’s for children of all ages.
In my web search for the phrase “Christmas is for Kids” I had over 1 and a half million hits. There are many organizations which have been using that phrase for a long time. There are also many songs with that title. One was by Marty Robbins, one of my favorite western singers from the 60’s, and another by George Jones. The lyrics of Jones’s song were really cute:
Uncle Joe threw snowballs till his fingers froze
And how the snowflakes tickled melting on your nose
There goes daddy down the hill riding on my sled
Well, I guess nobody told him that Christmas is for kidsMomma’s popping popcorn that we’ll put on a string
To wrap around the Christmas tree while everybody sings
Grandma’s telling stories about the things that Jesus did
And grandpa’s telling everyone that Christmas is for kidsChristmas is for kids from one to ninety-nine
And the kid comes out in everyone each year about this time
So as we gather ’round the tree let’s all bow our heads
And thank the Lord for all we have but most of all for kids.
Christmas is for kids, and so is heaven. When his disciples tried to prevent children from coming to him, Jesus said to knock it off because heaven was populated by children. He later went on to emphatically say in Matthew 18:3 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” When Jesus was talking to one of the leaders of the Jewish nation, he told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3