Last year, our Christmas celebration was made even more special by a wedding. Our oldest son was joined in marriage to a lovely girl from China. 

The story of course doesn’t start here. We first met the girl who would become our future daughter-in-law about two years earlier. We had been introduced to her casually a few times prior to this, but we didn’t have the opportunity to get to know her until Christmas 2020. Being a Chinese National who was in Canada on a student’s visa, she knew about Christmas. She knew it was a time when people exchanged gifts. She knew about Santa Claus and reindeer. She knew about Christmas candy and Christmas coffees and teas. She didn’t know that it was a birthday celebration, however, and had never celebrated a traditional Christmas.  

That would be a Christmas to remember, and not necessarily in all the good ways. It was the first Christmas during COVID, for one thing, and our kids from out west had to join us via the Internet. My mother-in-law passed away two days after Christmas as well, so perhaps the one bright spot in the whole Christmas celebration was getting to know our future daughter-in-law and sharing our Jesus with her. 

It is a simple thing, really, this opening your home for someone at Christmas time. Oh, there are many reasons to not do so, but the times we do always turn out to be the most blessed of times. Especially when this is such a perfect time to be showcasing our God! Let’s remember that if someone is not a Christian, there is a very strong chance that they don’t even associate Christmas with the birth of Jesus! What with all the fanfare of Christmas trees, shopping and lights, it is easy to think of Christmas as simply a family time, a time of exchanging gifts. 

But what if we were to take the opportunity to tell them about the real reason for Christmas? What if we allowed them to experience with us that Christmas is a time when we celebrate being part of God’s family? What if we share with them the Light of the World? What if we were to show them that the exchanging of gifts is to celebrate the fact that Jesus gave us the ultimate gift, the gift of His life? 

Of course, the people we invite to share in our Christmas may not respond the way we want them to. Nonetheless, seeds are planted. And seeds can never sprout unless they are planted! In fact, it isn’t even our job to make the seeds sprout. Our only job is to sow the seed. It is the Holy Spirit that makes them grow! 

And so we sowed into our Chinese house guest. No, we didn’t see any immediately fruit from the seed we sowed. But slowly, over time, we began to see this beautiful girl begin to grow an element of faith as she slowly came to the realization that there is a God, and that maybe He is a personal God who cares! 

Who can you sow seed for this Christmas? 

Maybe you can consider inviting a foreign student to your home to share in your Christmas celebration, as we did. Or maybe you can use the opportunity to sow seed into the hearts of your children who have gone astray, or your grandchildren who may be being brought up without any knowledge of Jesus. Or perhaps you can sow seed in your neighborhood by giving out Christmas goodies along with a card, by wishing them God’s deepest blessings at Christmas! There are so many ways we can share. The point is, the Christmas season provides us with the perfect opportunity to showcase our Jesus.

In the book of Romans, Paul cries out from his heart: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15 NIV) Let’s remember that we are all called (See Matthew 18:18-20) to share the good news. Let’s resolve this Christmas to be the one who makes it so that they can hear! 

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries