It was Christmas Eve, but the small group of refugees was not in a festive mood. There was no snow, no decorations, no food, no music, no presents and almost no family. They had to walk carefully because the ground was still hot in some areas, and there were hot coals and embers where there used to be trees. A huge wildfire had swept through the area, and it seemed that it had burned everything in its path! There were five people in the group, and they were strangers to each other, except for a mother and her young daughter.
Let’s meet the people in this group. The mother had nothing except the clothes she was wearing, and her daughter. The daughter was carrying a doll that had been partially burned by the fire. There was a man who had saved a small Bible from the flames. He was a little over sixty years old, but still very active and excited about life. There was a woman about thirty years old who was very successful in her job and excited about her career; and there was a teenage boy.
Yesterday there had been a strong wind that had turned a small wildfire into a raging inferno! People left everything and ran for their lives! These five strangers had found each other by accident and stayed together as they found shelter in a small river during the night. To pass the time while they waited for the fire to burn out, they talked to each other. They were surprised to find that none of them had family in the area. They were all going to spend Christmas alone, and now they had nothing!
Today was Christmas Eve and they spent the day on an endless walk. It seemed that they could not get out of the burned-up area. Everywhere they looked, the land was black and smoldering, there was no color visible except black and gray, even the sky was gray and gloomy. The young girl was exhausted, and the mother had carried her as long as she could, now the other three people were taking turns carrying the young girl. They were very hungry and very thirsty! The hot dry air made their throats so dry that they could hardly talk anymore!
Just as they thought that they could not go any further, they came to the top of a small hill and could not believe their eyes! In front of them the hill went down into a small valley with a stream in it, and just on the other side of the stream there was a small shack that had not been burned by the fire! There was some green grass around it, and it looked so good! The stream had kept the fire from the house and the small patch of ground around it! They stumbled down the hill into the valley, and the first thing they did was kneel by the stream and drink water! The water was cool and tasked so good, it seemed like they would never get enough!
After they finished drinking, the man went to the shack and banged on the door. There was no answer, so the man pushed the door open and looked inside. He could see that the people that lived there had taken their things and ran for their lives. The shack was empty except for a couple of chairs and a table. The group decided to spend the night in the shack. The teenage boy gave a joyful shout! He had found some food! It was just a half-empty box of crackers, they were stale, but it was food! They divided the crackers equally and had their first meal since yesterday and drank more water from the stream.
When they came back from the stream, the mother brought a small burnt tree limb into the shack. It was about four feet tall and covered with soot and ashes, and it had several branches. She stood it up in the corner and said that this would be their Christmas tree. The man had an idea! They should each find an ornament for the tree that had a special meaning for them. The teenage boy laughed and said that there were no ornaments anywhere around, everything worthwhile was burnt up!
The little girl said that she had an ornament for the tree! She put her doll on the table, and for the first time the rest of the group looked closely at that doll. Its hair was burnt off, it’s clothes were mostly burnt and falling apart, and her body was partially melted! The doll still had part of a sock on one foot, and the little girl carefully peeled the burnt sock off the doll’s foot. Part of the sock crumbled and fell apart, but the little girl took what was left of the sock and hung it on their Christmas tree! She said, ‘This little sock is a baby’s sock. It helps me remember that the greatest Christmas gift was God sending His Son Jesus to be born as a little baby!’
There were tears in everyone’s eyes as they remembered that the true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of God’s greatest gift to humans! The man got out his Bible and opened it to Matthew 1:18-21
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The mother smiled and hugged her daughter and said, “Yes, we all need to remember that the birth of Jesus is the most important thing about Christmas. We are going through an awful time, but Christmas is still wonderful because of Jesus! Bad things in this life are only temporary, but we can have eternal life by believing in Jesus and asking Him to forgive our sins and take control of our life. Eternal life with Jesus is going to be awesome! We have so much to look forward to!