Lessons From Linus That Show Us What Christmas is All About

 Lessons from Linus That Show Us What Christmas is All About

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

I love Charlie Brown. Maybe because I can identify with his feelings of inadequacy sometimes. But I also love his tenacity. He keeps going even when his emotions knock him down.

When he picked a scraggly sapling as a Christmas tree and placed it on top of Schroeder’s piano, pine needles trickled down with tinkling sound effects reflecting the sad state of his choice.

 Do you remember how the children reacted? They moaned, groaned, and complained about this not-so- beautiful symbol of the holiday.

After Charlie left the building with the sad little tree, he placed it in front of Snoopy’s doghouse. The other children soon followed.

Do you remember what Linus did? He said, “I never thought it was such a bad tree. All it needs is a little love.” He then separated himself from his security blanket and placed it around the base of the evergreen.

These lessons from Linus can show us what Christmas is all about.

Give up something we value for the sake of someone else. Linus gave up something that meant the world to him. He never laid his blanket down for any other reason. But he gave it up for the sake of a pitiful, rejected sprout.

Jesus laid down His life for the sake of pitiful, rejected humanity. He tells us to follow His example and lay down our own selfish desires for the kingdom of God.

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 NKJV)

Love changes us. All the tree needed was a little love. We can feel like we are worthless, ugly, and useless. We may see other people like this sometimes. The love of Christ brings worth and beauty to our lives. Charlie Brown’s friends decorated the sprig and changed it’s entire appearance.

Christ does more than alter our appearance—He changes us from the inside which can also change our external demeanor. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, His fruit will shine from us to the world, so love can change them too.

We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him; that he who loves God must love his brother also. (1 John 4:19–21)

Do you ever wonder, like Charlie Brown, how we can restore the true meaning of Christmas? This little boy’s frustration about the commercial treatment of his favorite holiday caused him to shout, "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus answered his friend’s question.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men." (Luke 2:10–14)

Depression afflicts many people in December because they feel hopeless and helpless. We can take these lessons from Linus and use them to show others (and ourselves) the many reasons Jesus was born, among them to give us value and a love that would change us forever.

Christmas brings us good tidings of great joy. The Savior has been born who brings this joy and peace into our lives through redemption. All we need to do is let Him in.

Read more about what Christ’s birth means to the world in my new book, Redemption, the Heartbeat of Christmas: What the Birth of Christ Means to the World. This book is available in paperback, eBook, and on Kindle Unlimited.

What do these lessons from Linus mean to you? What more can you add? Join the conversation.

Lessons from Linus that show us what Christmas is all about(click to share on X)

I am giving away a copy of  a Guideposts book, A Cup of Christmas Cheer. Leave a comment beginning today, December 11 through Thursday, December 18 at midnight and you will be entered into a drawing to win this book full of heartwarming holiday stories. 

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