Remember the Manger This Christmas

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Can you imagine being a shepherd sitting out in the fields one night and an angel of the Lord appears to you – not only to you but all the other shepherds? The awe and surprise must have been more than a mere shepherd could comprehend. I can’t begin to envision what the glory of the Lord looked like, felt like or sounded like.

In our fallen world today, as children’s leaders we are going to have to make sure we concentrate on what the angels told and what the shepherds witnessed.

I think this is more true for children of divorce who many times live in a confusing world. They may try to protect their parent by masking their feelings about everything. They may not want to talk to a parent that is hurting over the divorce. Because children of divorce may not approach their parent because they don’t want their parent to be worried about them, you may be the first defense in national crisis situations. You may also be the one they approach about truly understanding the Christmas story while our country and the adults in their lives are grieving.

This next Sunday, the Sunday before Christmas, please make sure you bring the manger and the birth of our Savior to the forefront of your conversations. Don’t let anything drown out the birth of Christ. Talk about the “glory of the Lord” and what that must have felt like, sounded like and looked like. Ask them what they think.

Kids need to know about the glory of the Lord that filled the skies that night long ago. Kids need to find hope today. Kids need to hear the part about “the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. Kids need you, the church and the Savior.

We need to plant the thought, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them” because children need the hope, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord is with them” in our world today.

For more resources and information on divorce, family disruption and modern families please visit our Hope 4 Hurting Kids Divorce and Modern Family Help Center.

This article is updated and adapted from an article originally published on Divorce Ministry 4 Kids on December 21, 2012.