Ho Ho Ho Grandpa

I’m sitting here in my recliner, reflecting upon my childhood, Santa Clause, Grandpa, and Jesus. It’s kind of an odd combination for little children to deal with.

Wow! The excitement of coming downstairs on Christmas morning!  You could smell the scent of that pine tree as soon as you walked in any door.

Lights on the tree all lit up, and those beautiful old bubble lights, all over the tree with Christmas bulbs and tinsel like icicles hanging down.

In my mind, as a child, Santa Clause had somehow made it down a chimney (with a fire going), dropped all these gifts, filled our stockings, had time to drink the milk and eat at least a dozen cookies. Amazing! This is the mindset of so many youngsters, and all are left in awe.

Next . . . Dad or Mom would drift into the room with their coffee and look like they had been up all night. By golly, thinking about it now in my seventies, I do believe that they were.

We weren’t permitted to open any gifts except our stockings. Mom would prepare a fantastic breakfast and then we were all required to eat and move to the living room.

By this time, Grandma and Grandpa would come through the front door with an armload of gifts and many smiles. Everybody sat down and Grandpa would pick up the Holy Bible and begin reading to us about the birth of our Savior and King Jesus.

Often Grandpa would begin with a reading from the book of Isaiah 9:6-7or from Luke 2:7. We sat there and listened to Grandpa reading. Grandpa loved Jesus Christ as his Lord. Truthfully, as a kid, I just wanted to open the gifts!!!

As Grandpa grew older and we understood reality, Christmas became far more than just the gifts under a tree.

The Holy Bible announced that God our Heavenly Father had given the greatest gift the world would ever know. Abba, our Father, had given us the perfect gift for all eternity. Jesus Christ was God’s perfect lamb. This gift was brought to mankind as a baby, and wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.

It is important that we recognize that Jesus Christ isn’t just for Christmas. This gift of God’s only Son is to be with us each and every day, and all through the night.

This precious baby, of more than two thousand years ago, had been prophesized from the very beginning of time. Many of the Messianic prophecies were made 1000-700 years BC. ((Genesis 12:3b; Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1)

After all, Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) fulfilled not just the 48 specifically Messianic prophecies. In fact, He (Jesus) has fulfilled more than 324 individual prophecies that are related to the Messiah!!!!!

So, … here we are seventy years later with our own grandchildren. Has our responsibility stopped because we are not the parents? Absolutely NOT!!!

Think of this…. we, as Christians are one in the body of Christ. Our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior was only the beginning. We, yes you and I, are responsible to bring Jesus Christ into the hearts and minds of every child.

We live 756 miles away from our biological grandchildren. This is hard on us as grandparents in our desire to be with our family. There are precious wonderful children in our churches, our neighborhoods, and all around us.

These wonderful children are not mine . . . They are God’s precious children, and each one of them belongs to Him. We as adults should always take the time (even in the briefest of moments) to let these children, maybe not our grandchildren, know that they are Gods children and that we as adults love them unconditionally.

Every year I write letters to our local children at Christmas. Single parents raise many of these children. Frequently, these same children have never seen or been into a church, or heard the word of God. Their school system has forbidden anything to do with Christianity. Jesus’ Holy Name cannot be mentioned or displayed on clothing.

Both of my children are grown, and both are schoolteachers. The students are given time off for what is called Winter Break—it is not allowed to be called Christmas break.

There is no Easter break, only a spring break. Jesus Christ and Christian values are forbidden to be expressed anywhere in the system. It is our responsibility as Grandparents as especially GRANDPA’s, to tell these munchkins every chance we get about the love of Jesus.

We have a moral (and spiritual) responsibility to God and to these precious angels to tell them of the Good News.  

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas . . . Yes!!!! Let the peace of Christ fill the air! Let the joy of Jesus touch the minds and hearts of every child you meet.

Every letter I write to a child I make it a point to tell them that this precious gift Jesus is theirs now and forever.

For the many years I have been doing this, and for being Papa Moose for so many years, I have witnessed young children reaching out wanting more. Wanting to know who this Jesus is and why God would give His son for us as a gift.

This is your perfect time not only to minister to a child, any child. You are Grandpa . . . you are loved and you are trusted as being wise. As Grandpa’s you can become your grandchildren’s “bestus friend.”

From the bottom of my heart . . . God bless you! Step up! This life is so very short and these precious children need to come to Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior, King, Lord, and Messiah. Take the time . . . Give these precious children your very best, . . .  Give them Jesus Christ as their personal gift from God.

God bless each of you.

Father, I pray that every Grandfather reading this becomes bold and reaches out to one of Your precious children. Bless their words, bless their hearts, giving them love without limits for all children including our own.

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

Most people call William Moorhead, “Papa Moose”. He brags that he is  married to an angel with her wings clipped. He and Marilyn have been married for nine years. Writing is something he never thought that he’d be called to do. However, God pricked his heart five years ago and he can’t put his pen down. He never knows what the subject will be or when God will stir his heart to write. It is Papa’s hope and prayer that his short stories will touch the hearts and minds of those who read them. 

Photo by Andy Oldham using DeepAi