Thumbs Up

Predicting what a child is going to say is like trying to predict the Second Coming.  You just never know what is going to come out next.  Our second grade grandson offered the most memorable quote of Christmas this year.  At a church supper he was asked, "Is Santa coming to your house this year?"  And, then came the word which will be quoted around our place for a long time.  "We are not doing Santa Claus this year.  We are focusing on Jesus."  The man with the question was like anyone of us would be.  He was surprised to the point of being speechless.  Instead of speaking, he simply gave my grandson "two-thumbs up" and walked away. 

 

Sometimes children point the way forward for us.  Jesus certainly showed an understanding of the simple wisdom and faith of children when He chastised His disciples for trying to push them back into a world where they are not seen or heard.  When it comes to matters of faith, we want to make it far more complicated than it is.  On the other hand, children often see through all the stuff and help us see the real core issue.

 

Christmas really is a special time of focusing on Jesus.  It is strange that this simple truth gets pushed back into a place where it is hardly visible.  We know it in our head, but somewhere between head and actions, this simple truth about Christmas gets de-railed.   Some who walk with on this journey have figured it out.  They give gifts of themselves to folks in need.  They make sure to touch the lives of the lonely and forgotten.  They are sensitive to the pain some experience during these festive days.  They do unto others in such a way that it seems that gifts of love and compassion are indeed being given to the least and last of our society.  Getting it right is not limited to children.  We can get it, too, and, perhaps, in the process get "two-thumbs up" from Jesus.