Some children were drawing pictures of the Christmas story in Sunday School.

One boy drew a picture of an airplane with three adults and a baby in it. The teacher was puzzled, and asked him to explain his picture.

Pointing to each one, he said, “Well, that’s Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus with Pilate on the flight to Egypt.” (If you don’t get it, see Matthew 2:13-15 and Matthew 27:11-26.)

Another kid drew a picture that looked more like the traditional scene. She had baby Jesus in a manger, Mary, Joseph, animals, wise men, shepherds and an angel above. But she also had a big fat guy to the side.

The teacher looked at her picture and said, “I understand all of the characters except this one. Who is the fat man?” She replied, “Why, that’s Round John Birgen!”

One of the things I love about Christmas is seeing it through children’s eyes. They may not always get the story exactly right, but they have a sense of wonder that we adults often lose. After all, the original Christmas caused people to wonder. Joseph and Mary wondered at the words they heard from angels. The shepherds wondered over a baby in a manger. The wise men wondered about a star and followed it.

The Christian band Third Day has a song that says,
“I want to feel Christmas, how it used to be
With all of the wonder falling on me
This season has felt so empty, oh for quite a while
I want to feel Christmas like a child.”

So watch a child look at a Christmas tree and see the lights dance in her eyes. Or read the story from the Bible to a child and let him ask you to explain the virgin birth. (You may want to think ahead about that one.) Catch the wonder again at what our amazing God did that first Christmas, and follow the star to the Savior.

Copyright 2008 by Bob Rogers. E-mail brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday for a mix of religion and humor. For more “Holy Humor,” go to the Web page of First Baptist Church of Rincon at www.fbcrincon.com.