Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area didn’t lend itself to a white Christmas. After opening gifts on Christmas morning, there was ample sunshine and balmy temperatures for play time with new toys. If there happened to be fog, it lifted by noon.
In order to see some hints of snow, my family drove in our station wagon into the mountains in early December. We would trudge in row after row of Christmas trees and pick the perfect evergreen. My dad had the honors of lugging the pine back to the car. My sister and I would help with the lifting. I think we managed to keep a few branches from dragging in the mud.
I spent many years hunting for Christmas trees without knowing the meaning of Christmas. While I enjoyed the family time in the mountains, the occasional snowball fight, and the heady scent of pine sap, I was missing the Christ in Christmas. Praise the Lord that I know him now.
How can a Christmas tree reflect the love of Jesus? Christmas trees are decorated with lights. Jesus says that He is the light of the world in John 8:12.
If you draw a Christmas tree as a geometric triangle, it has three points. One point each for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) to go and make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Children love unwrapping Christmas gifts. When I teach about Jesus at Christmastime, I wrap a gift and place the name of Jesus inside. Jesus is the best gift as He gives us eternal life that starts now! He gives us spiritual gifts that don’t run out of batteries or grow obsolete. We are blessed to have a relationship with a loving God (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10).
May you have a Christmas filled with Jesus’s love, for He is the best gift, and the reason for the season.
Barbara M. Britton enjoys teaching about the love of Jesus and bringing little-known Bible stories to light in her writing.