The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Children This Year

This year, I heard a relatively new Christmas song, and it caused my heart to swell with gratitude and praise for what God has done.

As I’ve listened to it over and over, the Lord has brought to mind countless conversations I’ve had with so many of you as you’ve shared your stories with me over the years. God has brought you to mind over and over, and I’ve prayed for you.

I wanted to share that song with you and then pass along what God has really impressed on my heart this season as I thought about the greatest gift we as parents can give our children. (If you click on the first line, you can watch the video and listen to it as you read the lyrics.)

O come, all you unfaithful
Come, weak and unstable
Come, know you are not alone

O come, barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done
Christ is born, Christ is born Christ is born for you

O come, bitter and broken
Come with fears unspoken
Come, taste of His perfect love

O come, guilty and hiding ones
There is no need to run
See what your God has done

He’s the Lamb who was given
Slain for our pardon
His promise is peace
For those who believe

So come, though you have nothing
Come, He is the offering
Come, see what your God has done.

(Written by Lisa Clow and Bob Kauflin)


Each mom and dad reading this has the opportunity to give their children the best gift ever. To be honest, though, it wasn’t until the Lord impressed on my heart to pray very specifically for you this season that I really thought about it in those terms.

But it’s true!

Mom and dad, you have the privilege of providing your children with a childhood, surrounded by a family that loves them and points their hearts to Jesus each step of the way. You get to teach them what’s important, and you get to give them a firm foundation on which to stand and to build their faith on. You have the unbelievable opportunity to be the ones who shepherd their hearts day in and day out, modeling for them what families who are living God’s way look like.

My heart is grieved that for some of you reading this today, those are totally foreign concepts. You didn’t have a family that loved and discipled you. You may have been abused. Your home may have been broken. You may be caught in a cycle of generational pain that you feel you could never break free from.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though!

During my devotions this morning, I found myself in Jeremiah, and I was encouraged.

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potters hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me, ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand…’ (Jeremiah 18:3-6)

The same God Who reminded the very broken people of Israel of His power to restore and remake them came to earth to make a way for YOU to be adopted into His family. He is able and willing to give you a fresh start as well. He alone can break down all that is cracked and imperfect from your present or past and use those
things to shape you and your family into the exact vessel He needs you to be to be usable and beautiful for Him.

This Creator, Redeemer God was born in Bethlehem, and through His life and through His Word, He gave you all that you need to know how to have a marriage that is godly, healthy, and glorifies Him. He gave you the world’s most perfect parenting manual, sufficient for every stage and phase of your children’s lives. He modeled for you the humility needed to be a servant and the selflessness needed to love like He did.

And, He is so faithful and patient with you. He won’t leave you helpless. He offers you the grace and the strength to pass on your faith to your children, and even to change the course of your family’s history if need be.

This week, I hope you’ll stand in awe of the gift God gave the world when He sent His Son, I pray you’ll determine in your heart that by His grace, you want your family to be exactly what He intended you to be and to allow the Master Potter to remake you if need be.

There is such hope for all of us as we truly take the time to see what our God has done!

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