By Dannah Gresh
Give me ten minutes, and I’ll change the way you and your family see your Christmas tree! Every time your kids look at it, they'll be reminded of the good news of Jesus Christ. (Translation: this simple family devo will teach them or help them remember key truths about the gospel.)
Start by sitting in a dark room beside your Christmas tree with all the lights off.
Sometimes this world sure seems dark. Things can be hard, right? And maybe a little uncertain. Possibly even scary! But as we approach Christmas, let's pause to remember:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)
Did you know that Christmas is celebrated at the same time as the winter solstice? The winter solstice is the moment in which the days of maximum darkness end and the light becomes stronger and stronger. Some believe that the early observers of Christ’s birth chose this because it was a fitting time for symbolic reasons. Though there is a spiritual solstice in our world, God is still about the work of building His Church. Christmas reminds us of this!
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. (John 1:9)
One of the greatest things about light is that it helps us to see. Even the tiniest of lights on our Christmas tree can dispel any darkness.
Plug your Christmas lights in and let it shine brightly in the dark room.
Christmas tree lights are small but powerful. The darkness cannot overcome those itty bitty lights! And those lights can tell you the gospel story each and every time you see them. Let me explain. The scriptures refer to Jesus as the "Light of the world."
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (John 1:1-4)
And Jesus actually called Himself the Light of the World.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
Your tree lights may be white. They may be multi-colored. Either way, talking through these colors will help you look at it with new eyes.
BLACK or DARKNESS Jesus is the Light of the world. Why did the world need light? Why did He need to come as a baby? Because the world was dark. What made it dark? Sin. The bad things we do. Your room without those lights, reminds us of sin.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23)
RED LIGHTS When you look at the red lights, remember that Jesus was born a sinless, perfect baby. And when He grew up, He was still sinless and perfect. For that reason, He was able to take our punishment for sin by dying on the cross. Through this selfless act of love, we have forgiveness of our sins. The red reminds us of God's love and how much He loves us as He sent Jesus to shed His blood to cover our sins.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)
WHITE LIGHTS When you see a tree with white lights, it reminds us that his blood washed away all our sins. This makes our hearts clean and white. If we trust in Jesus Christ, our sins will be washed as white as snow.
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (I John 1:9)
BLUE LIGHTS When you look at blue lights, reminds us that He has given us His Holy Spirit to live in and through us; He is always with us! He never leaves. That can comfort you when you feel the darkness of this world around you.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
GREEN LIGHTS The green light gives us an important reminder that we are to be growing in Christ. Our day of salvation is just the beginning of a wonderful life process of becoming more like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act.
You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. (II Peter 3;18)
YELLOW LIGHTS Finally, the yellow lights remind us of Heaven's streets of gold and the hope Christ brings to us. Because of Jesus, when we do leave this earth we can have eternal life with Him in heaven where the streets are made of gold.
The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. (Revelation 21:21)
Take turns sharing which light means the most to you and why. Then pray and ask the Light of the World to brighten our world!
Our True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you have to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
