Christmas Morning Devotional

What do you tell your children about the reason there are gifts at Christmas?  Do you tell them it is because the wise men brought gifts to Jesus?  Do you say it is a way to show love to one another?  Don’t stop there.  You can use Christmas as a great opportunity to clearly and tangibly demonstrate the message of salvation to your children.

Set the Stage

There are things you can do throughout the year that will help you maximize the impact of this devotional on Christmas morning. First, limit the number and frequency of gifts you give them during the rest of the year.  Commit to buying your children what they need.  If you decide to buy them what they want, have them work to earn it in some fashion.  They can do chores or use their allowance to pay for all or part of the item.  Children who frequently get what they want without having to expend some resource to get it have a hard time understanding the value of a gift. If you consistently maintain this standard throughout the year, when Christmas comes along you will have a stage that is ripe for the presentation of the gospel.

On Christmas Morning

1. Explain to your children that all the presents under the tree are free gifts.  They don’t have to earn them or be good to get them (please, don’t threaten to call Santa) – they are free.  You can then use this illustration to explain that Jesus is a free gift sent to us from God.  They could never be good enough or do enough to earn that gift.  In fact, it is because they do wrong things that God sent Jesus.
2. Next, tell them that even though the gifts under the tree are free for them, someone had to work hard to earn the money to buy them.  Likewise, God had to “pay” when He sent Jesus to earth.  He was no longer able to enjoy the constant fellowship of His Son.  Furthermore, God knew what He was sending His Son here to do – to die on a cross.  That little “gift” in the manger was given to us at a great cost to God.

This is a message that will speak the truth of the gospel in a language your children can understand.  Your  children may initially have some  feelings about having to use their resources for any “extras” at other times of the year, but by providing this backdrop to Christmas, you will be giving them a gift that is better than anything you could wrap up and put under the tree.

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Laura is a licensed counselor with over 15 years experience. She is also the mother of two delightfully inspiring children. She loves sharing her passion for godly parenting with others. Through CfP, she provides consultation services and parenting workshops.