John Bradshaw - What Do You Want for Christmas?
This is It Is Written. I’m John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. No, December the 25th is not the actual birthday of Jesus. More than likely, there were not three Wise Men who came to visit Jesus and His family. We say three Wise Men because gold, frankincense, and myrrh, that’s three. But the Bible doesn’t say three Wise Men. It simply says Wise Men. Yes, at Christmas time there are many people who eat too much, drink too much, spend too much. But for all of that, it’s the one time of the year that touches hearts and impacts families like no other. Christmas is still that time of the year where we say, «Peace on earth and goodwill towards men». And by and large, we mean it.
Christmas, even though there is no biblical command to remember the birth of Jesus, gives us the opportunity to remember and to tell and to celebrate and to share the greatest story ever told. So what does Christmas mean to you? The Christmas story is the most remarkable story about how God came near, in fact, how Jesus visited this sinful earth. And He came to this earth to bring to you and me the gift of salvation. So what does Christmas mean to you? I spoke to some friends and asked them what is special to them about Christmas, and the responses I received reveal to me that there’s a power in Christmas. Not a magic. Something far greater. There’s something special about Christmas day that manages to touch hearts and impact lives. There’s something special about the Christmas season that reminds us of a greater purpose, of a great God who loved this world so very much that He gave.
Woman 1: Christmas when I was a child was very fun. I grew up in Puerto Rico, so it was, you know, tropical scenery. It was just, it was always surrounded, um, by a lot of lively music, a lot of just fun with family, a lot of stories from the olden days.
Man 1: Well, we were pretty traditional when we were, when we were kids. Um, you know, we kinda did the whole Santa thing at that point in time. And so, you know, family was always the cornerstone.
Man 2: Well, when I was a child, of course we always looked forward to Christmas. We weren’t a real close family, but, um, yeah, Christmas time, my dad worked for Sears and Roebuck, so there were a lot of toys available. My favorite, of course, was the train. The train around the Christmas tree, that was always fun.
Man 3: For me, Christmas was a lot of getting together with family and just spending time together. We did get toys when we were growing up, and I would say that probably the one toy that I remember the most was a Lego train set. I really, really wanted this Lego train set, and I, for some reason, remember how expensive it was. It was $199, and that was a lot of money, a lot of money that my parents did not have when I was growing up. But I begged and I begged and I begged, and somehow they came up with the money. Only later did I find out my grandma had bought it for me.
Man 4: I’m Filipino, and I’m also a pastor’s kid, and so Christmas for me has never really been, uh, just a family thing. It’s more so been church and friends and all of that. Whenever Christmas time comes around, there’s always been a party where all of my friends and all of my church family could just, like, come together and just be in each other’s company.
Woman 2: Well, as an islander, a lot of things that we like to do is eat, as you can see. It’s always been a big thing with, like, meals, meal prep, um, sometimes we spend all night cooking things 'cause family come from far and near. So food has always been a big thing for Christmas for us. It was more, more food than the gifts.
Boy: You, you get to eat good suppers, and you get to spend time with your families.
Man 5: Yeah, Christmas growing up as a child, um, a lot of food, a lot of music, family members, um, just a big community of people coming together. And, um, the highlight is, uh, growing up in a neighborhood where kids were just, like, entering into each other’s homes, and, uh, there was food everywhere. You know, you’d walk into this home Christmas Eve, and there’s, there’s food on the table. You’d eat it and talk with your friends and play. So Christmas was just a whole big community event.
John Bradshaw: What’s your favorite Christmas memory?
Woman 1: I’d probably have to say the Christmas that my grandma was able to come from Ecuador to visit us for the first time. Like, I got to meet her. I was kinda nervous, actually, 'cause I, I didn’t know what to expect. But it was fun; it turned out really fun. She had a lot of stories and, like, new traditions for us, so that was a really good Christmas.
Woman 3: One of the ones that stands out a lot to me is one Christmas when, uh, one of my sisters had gone through a huge, like, a health crisis, and she’d nearly died, and our money was, like, really low. We didn’t have money for presents; uh, we didn’t have money for a Christmas tree, which we always try to get every year, and we were feeling pretty down in the dumps and sad. And, uh, we heard on the radio one day that there’s this place that had Christmas trees that they’re just gonna give away for free. So two days before Christmas, we go down at night to see what they had, and they had about, I don’t know, a dozen or so Christmas trees, and we picked one out. It was big, tall, beautiful, maybe like 9 or 10 feet or so, and brought it back and decorated it. And I can’t remember if anybody scrounged up presents or not, but we loved the tree and just looking at it, looking at the lights. And it just, it cheered us up. And that’s one of my favorite memories.
Woman 4: We had invited this couple that had three little children under school age, and, uh, he was a student, a theology student. And we invited them for Christmas. And, um, I bought, or had in mind at least, presents for them all. But, you know, men are hard to buy for, so I asked the lady. And she said there was a kind of Bible that he wanted. Um, I don’t remember the name, and I had to order it. Anyway, when he opened up his, uh, present, the look on his face, the surprise and the pleasure, was worth all the effort. I remember that more than the children opening their gifts. I got to thinking, you know, one day Jesus is going to introduce us to His Father, and I know the Father won’t be surprised because He knows everything, but I thought He’ll certainly have a pleased expression on His face, and I hope to be there to see that.
Man 2: My favorite Christmas memory had to be… the day I asked Phoebe to marry me. That really was exciting. Well, I was going to, on an errand, waiting for her to get done at the school of nursing. And I went down this hill without realizing that I sped up. I put the brake on, but it was too late. I told the policeman I’d just driven clear across the country to get here, but he wasn’t even helpful. I had to go to court. My turn came, and, and he said, «Well, how do you plead»? And I said, «Guilty, sir». And he leaned forward like, «Well»? What else could I do but tell him my story? And I said, «Well, maybe it just goes to show that men about to get engaged to be married shouldn’t be driving». And the whole courtroom started laughing. And he laughed, first time. And he said, «What did she say»? And I said, «She said yes». And then he said, «Mr. Cleveland, you can go out the free door today. Merry Christmas».
John Bradshaw: I’ll be back with more in just a moment.
John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. I’m John Bradshaw. So what does Christmas mean to you? What should Christmas mean to you? I asked some people what Christmas meant to them. Here’s what they told me.
Woman 5: Well, first of all, it means the birth of Christ. He came into this world for our sins, died for our sins, and He has made a… an extreme impression on me throughout my whole lifetime. And I think about Him every day, and what He went through for me.
Woman 2: The first thing that comes to mind when you say «Christmas» is family.
Man 6: And also Christmas, of course, means food. You got to have a lot of good food for Christmas.
Man 7: Christmas means my grandma. Super easy for her to get in the spotlight 'cause she’s always telling jokes and always doing that stuff. So, I’d say it’s her.
Woman 6: It means a lot more, um, now that I have my own kids. Um, I, I went through a couple years where I was kind of the Grinch and didn’t really wanna, you know, deal with Christmas 'cause it just seemed like a hassle before I had kids. Um, and now it’s just a whole lot more fun 'cause you can kinda relive it through them again.
Man 2: It’s such a blessing to get together with your children, your grandchildren, and just be able to really have time together. You know, the world is in so much turmoil, and we hear it every day. But when that family is together, when you’re up in that mountain cabin, and the snow is all around, and, and you’re telling stories, and, and you’re making Norwegian prune cookies, and, and, uh, just enjoying each other, it just, it just transports you to another place. And those are the kind of moments I wished everybody could enjoy because it’s just so rewarding.
John Bradshaw: What’s the most special Christmas gift that you’ve ever received?
Man 6: The best Christmas gift I ever received. Uh, it’s kinda funny for, uh, I grew up with, uh, three sisters, no brothers, and so every year I was always like, «Mom, can I get a brother for Christmas»? And she always was like, «No». And as an adult, I understand the absurdity of that question, but as my sisters have all gotten older, they’ve all married guys, so I now have three brothers-in-law. And all of their anniversaries are within a week of Christmas. So it’s kind of a reminder that, you know, I got my childhood wish of having a brother.
Woman 7: I think the best gift I ever received was probably a music box from my great-grandpa. Um, just the fact that it was from him was a big factor 'cause he hasn’t been around for a while. But, um, I mean, I had been wanting one for a long time and just to finally have it, and it was great, and it was so pretty, and I just loved it.
Man 7: I do remember the present that my grandma gave to me, even though it was not the most expensive one. It was just because we saw, like, how much time she put on it, and, um, I think just her face, like, when she gives the presents to us, and she sees that, like, this was meant for you, you know. So that made it extra special.
Woman 1: I was already almost a teenager, maybe, and we had moved away from Puerto Rico. It was kind of a poor Christmas, I guess you would say. And, um, my parents didn’t have much, and they decided to… what little we had, we just decided to give it away to, like, just some charity or something. And it was just that lesson that Christmas was still fun, even though we didn’t have to have some fancy gadget. That lesson has just kinda stayed with me; it was a different kind of gift.
Woman 5: Roller skates I got one year. We, I grew up during the Depression, and we were, everybody was poor. We didn’t know we were poor, but everybody was poor. And I think the year I got roller skates I felt like I had gotten a million-dollar gift. That was one of them. Later on, in 1955, I got my husband on Christmas day. That’s our anniversary, and that was probably my biggest Christmas.
John Bradshaw: If there was a gift that you could give somebody at Christmas time, what would it be?
Man 5: Uh, an opportunity for them to get better, whatever that opportunity is, and if it was within my power to give them that opportunity, you know, I would give it to them as a gift, be it a financial opportunity, be it a job break, you know, but an opportunity, just an opportunity for them to be better.
Man 6: Uh, if there was any gift I could give anyone in the world, um, I would have a hard time not giving something super special to my parents, just because, you know, they raised me, and they’ve given me a whole lot over the years. Um, and, uh, I’m now finally at a, at a place in my life where I can give good gifts to my parents, so…
Man 1: My parents have sacrificed a lot for us, and, um, I’d like to give something back to my mother. Uh, so, you know, pay off her mortgage or something along that line, just a way to say thank you.
Woman 1: I’d probably try to reunite a family. I’ve heard stories of people that just go through so much, and they’re away from family, and it just means the world to them to be reunited. So if I could do that, that would probably be the best gift I could give.
Man 2: You know, as I get older, um, I think it gets more real. Somehow a gift of service, maybe a mission trip together? Um, something that you’re just so glad you did it would be the kind of gift I would want to give.
Man 3: The best gift that I think I could probably give to anybody, even if it’s somebody that I didn’t know, would probably be to adopt a child. I would think that would be a good gift for somebody, to give them a home, a family that would love them.
John Bradshaw: And what do you want for Christmas?
Girl: Presents!
Woman 1: A car would be really nice. As a college student, to have a car, that would be really nice.
Woman 2: I think a laptop, a laptop for school.
Woman 7: More scholarships.
Man 1: Nothing. What makes a dad happy for Christmas is his children to be healthy and content, and so their smiling faces is, is all that I need.
Woman 4: You know, I’m to the stage of life where I’m getting rid of some stuff, I won’t need that anymore. Uh, just the fact that my family is there; they all love the Lord, and, and that’s special, and that’s what I want for Christmas.
Man 4: I just wanna be at home, like, to be honest. I’m the baby of the family, and so, uh, being away from home for so long, uh, it just makes me wanna be back with my family, my parents, my sister.
Man 2: Uh, more of my wife, time together.
Man 6: As a Christian, I think what I would most want for Christmas is for Jesus to come again. Um, I think any Christian should want that for Christmas. But you know, barring that, I would not mind having student loans paid off.
Man 5: Just to spend time with family, especially the aging old in my family, not knowing how long they’ve got left to go in life, but just to be with them.
Woman 5: There’s nothing like your family getting together for Christmas, and I would love to have them there, and our grandchildren, all of them, just the whole family.
Woman 6: Time with family, uh, the more family the better. And, um, I think just taking in all parts of the holiday, um, everything that you can and, and making it just a really special time, more than just a day, uh, the whole season, and talking about what’s really important, um, with your family. I, I think that’s the most important thing.
Man 3: I don’t think gifts would make my Christmas better. I’m past that stage now. I think the only thing that would make it better is if I could be surrounded by friends and family, and really celebrate Christ and the gifts that He’s given to us.
John Bradshaw: I’ll be right back with more in a moment.
Girl: My mom woke up at 11:45, and she smelled smoke.
Man: About maybe 1:30 in the morning, the, uh, my wife got a phone call, and I could hear the voice on the other end of the line, and she was basically, uh, screaming, «There is a fire! It’s massive! It’s headed your way! You need to get out, and get out now».
Woman: After I hear, «Fire,» I hear in the background, «The fire is two to four blocks away from your house,» and I panicked. We started praying. Our prayers didn’t last long. They were desperate; they were, they were rushed. There was a need; it was urgent; it was very, very urgent. I said, «Please save my children».
John Bradshaw: Where was God when the fires burned? Where was God as people suffered? Where was God while people were dying? Where was God in the midst of the devastation? So what do you want for Christmas? You know, Christmas is one of life’s great seasons of perspective. You get an opportunity to ask yourself, «What’s really important»? Because, of course, as we look around society, the emphasis is on what? Gifts and getting and having and consuming. And you and I both know that at the end of the day, even though there are things that we want, and there are things we want to eat, and there are things we want to consume; there are things we want to have; the having and getting and consuming and eating and drinking and all of that, it’s not what Christmas is really all about.
As I spoke with multiple people about Christmas, you know what came through? They said, «What’s important to me? Grandma». So if you’re a grandma, thank you. It seems like you make Christmas really special. Keep doing what you’re doing. Family! There’s nothing like getting together with family. I live thousands of miles from not my immediate family, but my extended family, and I see them very infrequently. So when people talk about the joy of getting together with family at Christmas, I say, «Aw, yeah, I’d love to be with my family». People say, «The kids. It’s the kids that’s important». Now, you ask a kid; the kid will say, «Presents! I want Legos! I wanna eat». That child will get old enough one day to say what’s most important isn’t the Legos and the gifts and the food, but it’s, it’s the kids, it’s family. You want enough time, family time, togetherness. What do you want for Christmas?
Now, it may be that what I’ve done is I’ve painted a Hallmark card. Maybe we’re guilty sometimes of painting an idyllic Christmas scene because what we know is that for many people, this won’t be a happy Christmas. Maybe there’s no work, no job, no money. Maybe you’re just broke. Happy Christmas. Maybe you’re facing Christmas alone. There’s no one to turn to, no one to hug, no one to love, no one to lean on, no one to celebrate with, maybe. There are many people in that very situation right now. Maybe bills are piling up. Maybe you’ve suffered terrible losses. If not you, then certainly somebody that you know. If you lost your home in a fire, then this Christmas is gonna be very different from any Christmas that you’ve ever experienced before. If someone has just told you they want a divorce, if your kids aren’t going to be home for Christmas, Christmas can be a really challenging time.
So what do we really want for Christmas? Well, we want grandma and cookies and gifts, and we want a tree and a fireplace, and we want the family to come together. Which leads me to wonder something. Can I share with you something that I’m wondering? I wonder if what we really want is that which we don’t yet have, and that what we cannot yet have. Maybe what we really want for Christmas, maybe what we really want for Christmas…is heaven. Because it’s only then that family won’t be separated. It’s only then that there won’t be any hardship. It’s only when we get to heaven that there won’t be any mourning. It’s only when we get to heaven there won’t be any grief and death, won’t be any lack of anything at all. Jesus came into this world, born as a baby 2,000 years ago in the little town of Bethlehem. And why did He come into this world?
Now, this is what you don’t see in manger scenes; it’s what you’ll never see written in slogans on signs along Main Street. According to the Bible, Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus came to this world to save His people from their sins. Jesus was a child who was born to die. He was born owing to the sins of the world. Someone had to save the wandering human family, and have we ever wandered! While you enjoy, I’m hoping, the happy side of Christmas, police or other first responders will see all too graphically that we are still in the midst of a troubled world mired in sin. There are still wars being fought. We salute our troops and thank them for their commitment to this Christmas time. There’s still hate, and there’s still injustice. There is still racism. There is still death.
I think perhaps what we want for Christmas is to be out of this world and into the world to come. I think that as we remember the very first advent of Jesus, what we really want, and what we really need, is His return. Revelation 21:4, «And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away». The shepherds who watched their flocks by night heard angels sing. Luke 2:20 says, «And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen». But they hadn’t seen the best that there was to see. Matthew 2:11 says, «And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh».
Imagine! But they hadn’t seen the best there was to see. In the temple, Simeon took Jesus up into his arms, and he blessed God. But even Simeon hadn’t seen the best that there was to see. First Thessalonians 4:16–17 say, «For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord». That’s the best there is to see: the return of Jesus, the end of sin, an eternity of peace. And we get to see it. By asking Jesus into your heart, you have the assurance of eternal life. Surrendering to God, Jesus becomes your Lord, your Savior, and your eternal hope. What do you want for Christmas? I know what I want. As John, who wrote Revelation, said, «Even so, come, Lord Jesus».
Let’s pray together now.
Our Father in heaven, the true essence of the Christmas story reveals to us that there is a God with a great heart of love, who wants more than anything that we, His children, be saved and be with Him forever.
Friends, as I pray, I’m wondering if God is speaking to your heart. If He is, and I think He is, would you surrender your heart to Him now? «Lord, I’m tired of going my way,» you might say. «I’m tired of doing my thing. I do want a new heart and a new life».
And so we pray, Father, take our hearts; make them Yours. And as You do, we believe that in Jesus, whom You gave 2,000 years ago, we have the gift of eternal life. We thank You, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.