{"id":948,"date":"2017-11-11T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/day-355-theyll-know-we-are-christians-by-our-love\/"},"modified":"2017-11-11T20:02:10","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T01:02:10","slug":"a-case-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/a-case-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Case for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Christmas story read aloud was truly one of the highlights of our year. I collected beautiful, amazing picture books that we read out of each afternoon during story time. Then as the kids got older, I began collecting story \u201ccollections\u201d or \u201canthologies\u201d to read short stories aloud at the dinner table, during unit studies, before bed, and while traveling by car. Still today we read aloud at least one Christmas story on family decorating night and one story on our family Christmas even\u2014with all fifteen of us gathered around. We never tire of the same heart-warming stories year after year (though when the kids were younger and still at home, we did many, many different stories).<\/p>\n

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I love sharing \u201cpublic domain\u201d or \u201cavailable online\u201d stories in this blog for families to read aloud together during the Christmas season. This is one of those beautiful stories.<\/p>\n

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Lee Strobel, in his book, \u201cA Case for Christmas,\u201d tells the heart-warming story of the poverty-stricken family he met while \u201cinvestigating\u201d Christ (as an atheist) many years ago when he was a journalist for \u201cThe Chicago Tribune.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This family, the Delgados, ultimately awakened his previously-absent faith, proving that during this time of year, and all of the time, the words, \u201cthey will know you are Christians by your love\u201d are completely accurate.<\/p>\n

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The Delgados, sixty-year old Perfecta and her two granddaughters Lydia and Jenny, were living in a small apartment after having been burned out of their roach-infested tenement. Strobel arrived at their home as he was working on a series about the neediest people in Chicago. Strobel could not believe what he found\u2014a small kitchen table and a handful of rice. A short-sleeved dress each for the girls\u2014and one sweater that the two of them took turns wearing, alternating as they walked to and home from school a half mile away.<\/p>\n

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Besides the shock of extreme poverty that Mr. Strobel observed, he also witnessed another first\u2014the hope and peace that this arthritic, sickly grandmother exuded. She was sure of her faith, convinced that Jesus had not and never would abandon them.<\/p>\n

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The atheist-journalist wrote the article, but could not get this family out of his mind. He pondered the irony of it all\u2014this family had nothing but faith and yet was joy-filled. He had all things material, but lacked faith\u2014and felt hollow within.<\/p>\n

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On Christmas Eve, he decided to drop in on the Delgados. What he saw again shocked him. Where there had been lack, there now was plenty. Where there had been emptiness, there now was fullness. The readers of his newspaper had responded generously to his article, providing this family with an apartment brimming with material gifts: roomfuls of furniture and appliances; beautiful Christmas tree with gifts galore beneath it; more food than they had probably seen in one place; myriads of clothing, including warm winter garments, scarves, gloves, and hats. Additionally, they had received thousands of dollars in cash.<\/p>\n

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Strobel\u2019s retelling of the moments after he entered the apartment this second time is so poignant, allow me to quote from the book (and the website linked at the end of this post):<\/h4>\n

\u201cBut as surprised as I was by this outpouring, I was even more astonished by what my visit was interrupting: Perfecta and her granddaughters were getting ready to give away much of their newfound wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201c When I asked Perfecta why, she replied in halting English: \u2018Our neighbors are still in need. We cannot have plenty while they have nothing. This is what Jesus would want us to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201dThat blew me away! If I had been in their position at that time in my life, I would have been hoarding everything. I asked Perfecta what she thought about the generosity of the people who had sent all of these goodies, and again her response amazed me: \u2018This is wonderful; this is very good,\u2019 she said, gesturing toward the largess. \u2018We did nothing to deserve this \u2014 it\u2019s a gift from God.\u2019 \u2018But’, she added, \u2018it is not his greatest gift. No, we celebrate that tomorrow. That is Jesus.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201dTo her, this child in the manger was the undeserved gift that meant everything \u2014 more than material possessions, more than comfort, more than security. And at that moment, something inside of me wanted desperately to know this Jesus \u2014 because, in a sense, I saw him in Perfecta and her granddaughters.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201dThey had peace despite poverty, while I had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity, while I only knew the loneliness of ambition; they looked heavenward for hope, while I only looked out for myself; they experienced the wonder of the spiritual while I was shackled to the shallowness of the material \u2014 and something made me long for what they had. Or, more accurately, for the One they knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Delgados amazed me by the way they sacrificially reached out to their neighbors with a tangible expression of Christ\u2019s love. What an opportunity for all of us to follow their cue this Christmas season \u2014 and to watch as God cracks open the hearts of even the most hard-hearted cynics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The quotes in this post were taken from Lee Strobel\u2019s book, THE CASE FOR CHRISTMAS, as was the content of the story. (By the way, that book is an amazing Christmas devotional for families of kids ages twelve and up!)<\/p>\n

You may access the story in its entirety, as well as more information about Mr. Strobel\u2019s books here. <\/a>(or click on the image below!)<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

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P.S. What is your family\u2019s favorite Christmas read aloud?<\/h4>\n

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Love and hope,<\/p>\n

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Then as the kids got older, I began collecting story \u201ccollections\u201d or \u201canthologies\u201d to read short stories aloud at the dinner table, during unit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643,488,633,308,281],"tags":[267,287,317,277,195,283,109,311,303],"yoast_head":"\nA Case for Christmas - Character Ink<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/characterinkblog.com\/a-case-for-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Case for Christmas - Character Ink\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Christmas story read aloud was truly one of the highlights of our year. 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