by Joanie Butman
While visiting London last week, I had the pleasure of attending services at Holy Trinity at Brompton. Experiencing Christmas from a new perspective is always refreshing, and this service didn’t disappoint. HTB is a vibrant Christian community that eagerly welcomed me into the fold. I left with my first Christingle along with a skip in my step and joy in my heart.
The fact that I found myself in a children’s service seemed appropriate as my daughter had been chiding me all week for being childish. Can’t imagine what would prompt her comment….
I prefer childlike as opposed to childish as the latter carries a negative connotation. Childlike, on the other hand, is more about purity and simplicity. I can’t think of a better approach to faith. Perhaps that is why Christ teaches “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 18:3). Too many adults (myself included) let their intellect and ego cloud their experience of the Divine. Young children (at least those blessed to be part of a loving family) expect to be loved. They never question their parents’ love or protection. They trust them wholeheartedly though they balk at times when their desires are thwarted – usually as protective measures.
I believe Christ yearns for us to accept His love (and correction) with the same confidence. We don’t have to earn His love any more than our children have to earn ours. We love them because they’re ours. God loves us because we are His. As I used to remind my children, “I will always love you. I may not like the way you behave at times - and it’s my job to correct you - but I will never stop loving you.”
It’s a universal desire to be recognized and loved for who we are, not for what we have or haven’t done. God’s love is the only one capable of satisfying that holy longing. We don’t need to prove anything or provide anything (other than our time and attention). Just being His is all the reason He will ever need. How can anyone choose to resist such a gift? Christmas (and the Christingle) is a glowing reminder of the depth of His love. Our Heavenly Father’s love personified in the birth of His Son.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).
Another thing, children expect good gifts on Christmas. They inherently believe they deserve them whether they’ve been naughty or nice. In fact, it doesn’t take them long to determine that despite the warnings from Santa (or mom and dad), he’s going to show up regardless of their behavior. Why? Because he’s good, and Christmas has more to do with his goodness than their behavior. Again, no wonder Christ exhorts us to be childlike in our faith. His heartfelt desire is that we begin each day not believing that we deserve anything from our Father, but expecting it nonetheless because of His goodness and love for us – simply because He’s a good Father. As Chris Tomlin sings,
You're a Good, Good Father
It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am
Some say Christmas is for children, and I couldn’t agree more because we are all children of God. He wants us to wake up on Christmas (and every other day) with childlike excitement and anticipation to unwrap the greatest gift of all…Himself.
Finally, watching the children’s faces during the Christingle procession reminded me of the joy that is ours in Christ. It’s given me a new Christmas tradition to share. Here’s a brief history of the Christingle.
Christingle is a symbolic object that means ‘Christ’s light.’ It consists of an orange with a candle held in its center and a red ribbon around it. Four sticks holding fruit, nuts or sweets are pierced into the orange. The orange represents the world, the red ribbon symbolizes Christ’s love and blood. The lit candle represents His light in the world. The four sticks symbolize either the four points of a compass or the four seasons, and the fruit or sweets represent all of God’s creations. The Christingle tradition began in Germany in 1747 when John de Watteville, minister of a Moravian church, gave children a lighted candle with a red ribbon around it. This represented Christ as the light of the world – and the final prayer of the service was ‘Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these children’s hearts, that theirs like Thine become.’*
That is my Christmas prayer for each of you. May your joy as you celebrate Christmas this week be childlike in its purity, and may Christ’s light shine brightly in and through you today and always. His gift is the one that keeps on giving….
Merry Christmas.
*https://metro.co.uk/2016/12/15/what-is-a-christingle-6325396/