A Fake Christmas

Jesse was excited to see the Christmas tree in the mall. His older brother, Rodney, had told him the tree was huge and the decorations, fabulous.

Jesse stood at the rope barricade and stared in wonder at the shiny balls, the glittering stars, the miniature angels, and the sparkling snow.

"We can get some of that snow to put on our tree," Rodney said.

"We can?" asked Jesse. "How?"

"You mean where," Rodney said. "You just buy it. It comes in a spray can and you spray it on the tree."

Jesse looked disappointed. "It looks so real," he said. He looked around some more. "Who are all these presents for?"

"They're not for real either," Rodney said, giving his brother a pat on the head. "They're just boxes wrapped to look like presents."

"But what's in them?" Jesse wanted to know.

Rodney shrugged. "Nothing. They're empty boxes, just part of the decorations."

Jesse could hardly believe that. He wanted to reach over the rope and shake one to make sure.

"For people who don't know about the real Christmas when God gave us His gift, Christmas can be just as empty as those fake presents," Rodney added.

"What do you mean 'His gift'?" Jesse asked.

"God gave us Jesus, His Son, to be our Savior," Rodney said. "That's really why we celebrate Christmas."

"Oh, I know that," Jesse said. "We do that at home and at church, but it doesn't see like very many other people do."

"I know," agreed Rodney, "and a display like this at the mall probably won't help them. It's supposed to get people in the mood to buy Christmas presents, not worship Jesus. It really doesn't have much to do with the real Christmas."

Jesse nodded. "It's kind of like the fake presents," he said.