There’s something about Christmas that feels different. Whether we live in the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur, the crowded cities of Manila, or the quiet towns of Indonesia, there is something about this season that warms our hearts. For parents, it’s one of those moments we hold close. My family takes the opportunity every year to take a photo by the tree, ever since the children were young. We want to create moments our children will treasure. We stay up late to prepare meals and wrap gifts, hoping that our homes will be full of love, joy, and peace.
Children feel it too. They count the days with excitement. The malls are filled with lights, carols, and festive sales. Everything around us seems to shine a little brighter. But even in the beauty and excitement, it’s easy to miss the heart of it all. Beneath the glitter and the gatherings lies a story far greater, far bigger than any fairy tale – the story of God Himself coming into our world. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). God chose a manger, not a palace. Not a throne, but a helpless baby wrapped in cloth. The Son of God entered into His creation, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
God saw our brokenness, our fears, our sin and our wandering hearts. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). Our sin separated us from God, and no amount of good works, religion, or cultural tradition can fix that. So, in His great love, God came down to us. He entered our mess to restore what we could not, bringing hope where we had none and doing for us what we could never do for ourselves.
The humility that led Him to be born in a manger is the same humility that led Him to die on the cross. His becoming human made His sacrifice possible. The angel’s words still stand today: “Good news of great joy…for all people” (Luke 2:10). Joy, because His birth begins the story of our rescue. Joy, because it is the opening chapter to the greatest act of love the world has ever known.
Parents, with so much happening in this season, let us not miss the heart of Christmas: God came near, and through Jesus, He saved us. The world will tell them a different story. Be good. Earn your gifts. Try harder. In many Asian homes, we emphasise achievement and behaviour, often measuring worth by performance. But the gospel flips that story upside down. The Santa story says, “Be good and you’ll get rewarded.” The gospel says, “You were not good, yet God gave you the greatest gift of all – Himself.” That’s the story our children need most. Because the joy that comes from presents and parties fades, but the joy that comes from grace lasts forever.
So, let’s tell the story again and again. Tell it when we hang decorations, when we drive through the city lights, when we sit together at the dinner table. Tell it beside the tree, during bedtime prayers, and even when life feels heavy or rushed. Tell them the hard truth that we all need saving so they can appreciate the good news. Jesus didn’t come to make our lives easier, but to give us new life. Let every Christmas light remind them of the true light of the world.
And then, go. The good news isn’t meant to stay inside our homes. Just as the shepherds ran to tell others what they had seen, we too are called to go to our families, schools, workplaces, and communities, carrying the message that still brings hope to the world. “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15). The story that reached the shepherds in the fields is the same story we are called to carry today.
May our children grow up knowing that Christmas is not about the gifts they receive, but about the gift they are meant to share. This story isn’t ours to keep. We are called to go and tell the world that God has come near.
And going doesn’t always mean travelling far. It can look like inviting a neighbour to a Christmas service. It can look like bringing Christmas cookies to the security guards or workers in our housing area to show them they are seen and valued. It can look like buying toys for children who have less. It can look like including someone who has no one to celebrate with on Christmas Day. Every small act becomes a light in this season, pointing beyond the decorations to the God who came to save.
This is how the story of Christmas continues through us – the same light that shone in Bethlehem now shines through ordinary people like us, in ordinary moments in ordinary days.
