Christmas is for children! If I were to ask you to give me your fondest memories of Christmas, what would they be? Wouldn't they be from when you were a kid? I have an ideal of Christmas that comes from the Christmas festivities of the congregation my dad was pastor of; the Children's Christmas Eve service, impatiently waiting to return home with family to open presents, which was always such a happy time for our family, and then returning for the late candlelight service. I am sure that most of you have memories of gathering around the tree with family, opening presents, enjoying treats, or just enjoying each other. It is an exciting time for a child! It is something a child looks forward to for weeks, even months! It filled you with hope and many expectations.

As you grow up, that hope and those expectations might change a little. As an adult, this time of the year now brings new responsibilities. It might even stress you out and make you want it to be over soon. "Santa" takes on a new meaning. That eager hope that filled your heart as a child turns to pessimism and realism. You probably realize that Christmas is really for kids. If you have your own kids, you get to kind of live through them. You get to see the hope and anxiousness filling their hearts as December 25 grows closer. You get to see the joy on their faces as they take part in Christmas plays, eat cookies, open presents, and play with their gifts. Christmas is really for children. Is it for you? Could it be true that if you are not a child, Christmas really isn't meant for you or me? (This is the dilemma.)

1. Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

Well, let's investigate that. Ask any child who Christmas is for! They will tell you! Christmas is for kids who have been nice, not naughty! And how do they know that? That's what they have heard and learned! I bet you remember this song: "You better watch out! You better not cry. You better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town! He's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's gonna find out who naughty or nice, Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake!" Kids know that Santa can see them, that he knows what they are doing, that he is recording whether they have been naughty or nice, and that he is going to reward those who have been nice with awesome gifts. The naughty ones are getting a lump of coal, so watch out!

Kids know this. How? Because they hear it from adults. Why do they hear it from adults? Because, whether we think we believe this stuff or not, we have to admit that it makes sense! And why would it make sense? Because it is based on a very fundamental truth that is written on each one of our hearts! The truth that some things are good and some things are bad. The truth that there is an absolute standard for human behavior. The truth that, if you live according to that standard, you are "nice," and if you do not live according to that standard, you are "naughty." Children are brought up knowing this because it is taught to them. And it can be taught to them, because it is already embedded in their hearts!

Does it ever seem to you that even though sometimes people seem to have different ideas of what is wrong and right…we ALL sense that there IS such a thing as "naughty" and "nice"? Where do you think that comes from? Could it be that we have something inside us that is linked to something bigger than we are? Actually, the bible says there is Someone bigger than we are…his name is God. And He really has a standard by which we are measured. Why else would there be a "Santa Claus," who keeps a list of which children have been good or bad? Why else would you have a conscience that taps your shoulder when you're doing something, saying something, or even thinking something that would put you in the "naughty" category? Why have governments throughout history been successful only if they have had a system of law based on the divine law written on our hearts? A law that respects a divine creator and the rights of others? The idea of Santa Claus, any kind of order in society, and useful human law would not exist if God, who created you, hadn't placed his good law in your hearts!

If there is an absolute truth, how do we rate? Let's take a look at Santa's criteria. It seems that crying, pouting, and being awake instead of sleeping like you are supposed to would make a child naughty. Parents, which list would your children end up on? When I was a child, I could tell you which one I was on! In fact, I could tell you which one I would be on even now. Apparently, Santa keeps a list. If you do something bad, you get marked down as a naughty kid. If you do not do something bad, you remain on the "nice" list. In reality, how many would make the nice list? It seems that one tiny pout or tear would assure you of the other list and a lump of coal. That's a tough standard!

Where do you suppose that sense of right and wrong came from? We all have it. But it couldn't come from within ourselves. That would be quite a coincidence! It can't just come from parental training, either. It comes from God, our creator, who is perfect Himself. He wants us to have wonderful lives lived well, so He gave us a perfect law. He wrote it on our hearts. And then He even wrote it down for us.

So, how do we rate according to God's Law? God's rule is to Be Perfect. One miss at that effort ends us up on his "naughty" list. Which list do you see yourself on? Naughty or nice? Well, has your conscience ever bugged you about anything you have done, spoken, or even thought? Has anyone else been hurt by something you have done, spoken, or thought? Have you always revered the God who created you as the most important priority in your life? You can guess which list you're on. The fact that you and I have not only failed to always be on the nice list, but even rebelled against that list and against God for having that list is why the world is the way it is. That is why we have crime, sickness, pain, and death. That is why there is war and unrest. It is because of something called sin. We are responsible for the sorry state we're in because we failed to keep God's Law.

A popular play and movie this time of the year is "A Christmas Carol." There is one scene that has always fascinated me. The Ghost of Christmas Past has just paid a very discomforting visit to Ebenezer Scrooge. Clearly, the old miser is shaken by the entire ordeal. But when he awakens from sleep, does he take the message to heart? No, he simply dismisses it by saying, "Bah, Humbug, it wasn't real. Just a bit of last night's undigested beef. There is more gravy about you than the grave." Is the possibility that there is a God who demands perfection from us and has given us an absolute truth, a message to be taken to heart, or just simple indigestion that you will be able to get over quickly after Christmas? You tell me. Can you press the mute button on the voice in your heart telling you it is true?

God tells us in his Word that we are under his law. He is a just God who demands perfection. His children know that. His children know that He wants us to be nice. His children also know that we have not been nice. We have been naughty. But his children also know something more important: God loves you regardless of whether you have been naughty or nice! And that unconditional love is what Christmas is all about! Unconditional love and forgiveness are the Christmas gifts of Jesus Christ. So…

Truth #1: Are you a child that realizes you've been Naughty? Then Christmas is for you!

2. Do You Know God Has Adopted You As His Child?

Two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal. One lady replied, "We're celebrating the birth of my baby boy." "But where is he?" inquired the friend. "Oh," said the mother, "you didn't think I'd bring him, did you?" What a picture of the way the world treats Jesus at Christmas. We have lost the meaning of Christmas, and the assurance that it is for us.

Christmas is really for children. Christmas is, in fact, the celebration of a Child's birthday. A very special child! You see, God is not a harsh God who just gave us this law we couldn't obey, and throws the lump of coal at us when we can't. He wanted to give us a better gift than that. This was so important for Him that He gave up his own Son to do it. He sent Jesus here to this earth. He had his divine Son be born of a woman, become a true human being, and be born under the same law, the same sense of right and wrong, that you and I live under. Can you imagine that? God being under our law? God wrote our law! But He can take life away because He gives life. He cannot be guilty of stealing because everything is his anyway! Now, God's Son humbled himself by being born in that manger where cattle ate, and He placed Himself under his own commandments He gave to us for our good.

Why did He do this? Because He isn't just a harsh God with a list. He is a loving God. In the Bible we are told that "God our Savior wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." God loves you! Here is where any comparison between Santa and Him stops. It makes sense to you that Santa rewards good children with gifts and naughty ones with lumps of coal. It makes sense because you have a divine law of right and wrong written on your heart by God. But this does not make sense: even though you and I have been naughty, God wants to give us the good presents anyway! He wants to reward us regardless of how we have lived! Santa would have to simply follow through with the coal if he is true to his word. But God's love for you isn't based on your actions. It is based on the fact that his love for you is perfect! You are on his naughty list. But He sent his Son here to take you off that list. His Son Jesus kept God's list perfectly, and God gives you credit for that. So, now when God is "checking his list twice," He doesn't see any black marks on yours! So, there are presents coming your way: Unconditional forgiveness. Peace between you and Him. Eternal life in heaven with God.

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. It was God's plan to send his Son all along, and He kept that promise. His Son came to redeem us. He bought us back from our failures. He gave his life as the price to get us on the right list with God. And because He did that, we are his children. You are God's Children! He has adopted you! You didn't bring yourself into his family. He brought you in. And as his children, your home is with Him forever!

Christmas is for children. Because of God's undeserved love for you, you are one of His Children! And since Christmas is for children…

Truth #2: If you know you are one of God's children, Christmas is certainly for you!!

Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in NYC, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day to day, he shares it. He loves them. If they don't talk, he doesn't talk either. It is as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them, communicates something that they haven't experiences in years - somebody understands. But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them. He holds these unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply, "Thank you." This is what Christ did for us at Christmas. He moved into the ward with us. He placed his bed among our beds. Christ was content with a stable when He was born so that we could have a mansion when we die. Those who were there, those who saw Him, touched Him and were in turn touched by Him and restored to life. The first word they had to say was "Thank you." Christmas is our time to say "Thank you." Children, say "thank you" for all your presents. But say "thank you" for the most important one you have ever received!

Is Christmas for you?? If you are a child who admits that you have not been perfect, but falls at the mercy of a loving God who gave up his own Son for you, Christmas is most certainly for you! Boy! This is good news. Christmas IS for me. It's for YOU! How does that affect you? It's made a lot of difference in my life! It changes the outlook I have every day when I wake up. It fills me with a better hope than I ever had as a kid who was looking forward to presents at Christmas. When I think about all this God did for me, by giving up his Son, it brings me to tears. Tears of joy. Tears of thanks. When this outlook warms my heart, I don't dread Christmas. It isn't just for children. It's for me. For you. "So you better look out, you don't need to cry, you don't need to doubt, I'm telling you why, Jesus Christ has come to town. He's made his list, He's checked it twice, He knows you've been naughty and you haven't been nice. Jesus Christ is coming to town. He knows when you are sleeping, He knows when you're at play, He knows when you've been bad and good, but He loves you anyway! Amen.

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