Finding the Best Story of Christmas

The best story. Here I was, trying to find the best story about Christmas. I searched through books and the internet for a kid’s story that would work. I kept finding the same stories through google search. However, I wanted something unique, something different.

There are so many stories out there that are filled with joy and with peace. There are stories where hearts are touched, scrooges become philanthropists, and family members are reunited. There are stories of children who give unselfishly, parents who sacrifice for children, and children who thought there’d be no Christmas wake up to find that someone has brought presents. Prayers are answered and all is right with the world.

I love those kinds of stories, and I have favorites that I read every year. These stories warm my heart and bring out a desire to have a better Christmas than ever before. These stories make me feel that all’s right in the world.

Only, in the world I know, there are lonely people. Families are hurting. Communities are torn apart and churches struggle to meet the needs of their parishioners. There doesn’t seem to be enough time or enough money to meet all the needs and heartaches of people I know. I find myself going back to the oldest, and the best story of all. Back to when it began. Or even before it began. For that is how it happened that we even have a reason to celebrate.

I find myself going back to the oldest, and the best story of all. I go back to the beginning of the Christmas story or even before it began, for that is why we even have a reason to celebrate.

The other evening I enjoyed a quiet time by the fireplace in the living room.

I started in Genesis, where sin entered the world. I moved to Isaiah and finally to Luke and to Matthew. There, in those pages, I found again the very best story that we have about Christmas.

We’ve heard it so often and sang about it so much that we forget its beauty, its simplicity, and its healing.

God created the world and then He made man in His image.

Man sinned and was banned from the beautiful garden. Yet in that very moment, God promised a Savior. In His pronouncement of their punishment, God revealed His plan for their redemption.

His people were held in bondage and the prophets promised that the Messiah would come.

When the fullness of time had come, the virgin Mary gave birth to the Savior.

Shepherds came and, a couple of years later, the wise men visited the Christ child.

This Baby grew and became a Man. He taught, He healed, He suffered, and He died.

For you. And for me.

This Baby, the God-Man, rose from the dead and became our Savior.

Read the story.

It really is the best Christmas story there is – because this story is the real Christmas story.

May you have a blessed Christmas – and experience firsthand the joy, splendor, and the wonder of the real Christmas story!

The beginning – creation and beyond

The promise of the Savior after the Fall.

Another promise of the Savior in Isaiah.

The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and how the angel spoke with Joseph.

The angel’s visit to Zechariah, to Mary, and Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.

The birth of Jesus, the visit of the shepherds, and the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve.

The visit of the wise men to the Child Jesus