One of the most oft expressed questions at this time of year is, “What do you want for Christmas?” When I asked my 3-year old granddaughter that question a couple of weeks ago, she was not at a loss for ideas! After touring Toys-R-Us for an hour or so, delivering everything on her list would give Santa a hernia! Of course, if she is on that dreaded “Naughty List,” as Kenna fears, that would be a moot point.

In 1944, a New York public school music teacher, Donald Yetter Gardner, asked that simple question of a class of second graders. He noticed that every child had at least one tooth missing. Inspired by their dental deficits, he sat down and composed the classic ditty, “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!” As improbable as it seems, that song rose to number one on Billboard’s Top Forty in November of 1948 and remained there for nine weeks! The next time you sing that song with a lisp, you will no doubt do so with increased respect!                                          My front teeth remain intact and toys just don’t have the same appeal that they once did a half century ago. (My former toys are now available in antique stores everywhere.) So just how would I answer that question?

All I want for Christmas? How about the joy of spending a few days with my grandchildren! Of all the gifts that God has so graciously blessed us with in the last ten years, Nathaniel, Carli, and McKenna have to top my list. And during the holiday season, we get to spend several days focusing our time and attention on simply enjoying them.  My theory is that God gives us grandkids to make-up for the things we lose as we grow older! It must be more than coincidence that God’s greatest gift was a child!

All I want for Christmas? One year, in a children’s sermon, I asked the kids if they had made a Christmas gift list. Each one spoke of treasures they hoped to open on Christmas morning. Then I asked, “How many of you have made a list of gifts to give to others?”  Silence filled the room. Not a single child had given a thought to giving a gift to someone else.  While receiving gifts is a blessing, Jesus assured us that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) I want to give to others.

All I want for Christmas? I want to meditate on the meaning…the mind-boggling, life altering meaning of what the nativity of Christ proclaims! Vast multitudes never give the birth of Jesus more than a “Bah Humbug.” But if what has been told us concerning this child is true…and it is…the stable delivery room in Bethlehem witnessed the single most significant birth in all of human history! This infant that was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a feeding trough, was named “Jesus; for He would grow to save His people from their sins!” This offspring of a virgin womb would be known as the Immanuel, the “God who is with us!” Imagine the miracle of incarnation; that God would stoop so low to enter humanity not as a full grown adult after the manner of Adam in Genesis.

Instead, God opted to become a man and would dwell among us for 33 difficult years. He would experience life as we did and was tempted in every way, yet was without sin. This baby boy’s coming had been foretold by the prophets of old for centuries! This child whose birth was first proclaimed to hillside shepherds would therefore qualify to become the Lamb of God who would die as the perfect sacrifice and “take away the sin of the world!”

All I want for Christmas? For many years, I missed the meaning; the eternal significance of that Bethlehem baby. But since I learned what Christmas truly means, I want others who are still as unlearned as I once was, to discover the matchless truth about Jesus! Would you take a few minutes this December to examine the Scriptures for yourself? You will find the account of His miraculous birth in Matthew 1-2 and in Luke 1-2. Take some time this month to join the chorus of angels who sang, ”Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:14) If you don’t have a church home, come and visit us or find another good congregation where you can move from ignorance to inspiration! Don’t miss the miracle!