Don't Let the Thief Steal Christmas

Intro: How Dr. Suess Stole the Meaning of Christmas

I recently re-read an article by Dan Olsen about the Christmas Classis, How the Grinch stole Christmas.

The article points out that Dr. Suess very purposefully did not want Christian themes in the story.

The Grinch in the original book is a Scrooge-like curmudgeon who plots to steal Christmas from the happy Whos in Whoville. After stealing all the toys, food, and trees, the Grinch believes he has succeeded. But then he hears the Whos singing merrily.

It causes the Grinch to puzzle, and realize:

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.” “Maybe Christmas. . . perhaps. . . means a little bit more!” And what happened then? Well. . . in Whoville they say, That the Grinch’s small heart Grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!

Think about how you might end the story if you wanted to bring in the real meaning of Christmas????

And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch carved the roast beast!

It is a tidy and fitting conclusion, but one Geisel puzzled over for months.

In a biography by Judith and Neil Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, we learn that Grinch was “the easiest book of his career to write”—except for the ending. “I had gone through thousands of religious choices,” Geisel explained, “and then after three months it came out like that” (emphasis added).

The 1966 animated film adaptation offered a second chance for Geisel to consider religious choices—expanding the 10-minute book into a 60-minute film. Designer Maurice Noble remembers that “[Geisel didn’t want] a star coming down from the sky, so I had it come from the hearts of the people of Who-ville.” Seuss also wrote all the song lyrics, like “Welcome Christmas”—where the meaning of Christmas is all about the self in community: Christmas Day will always be / just as long as we have we!

The moral of The Grinch is clear: The REAL meaning of Christmas is inside us. God is not involved. We are saved by We.

When the 1966 animated version came out, his biographers note it was “a rare Christmas special without religiosity.” Geisel was an early trendsetter: Christmas specials with no Jesus.

Dr. Suess was a pioneer of what is common place today - a robust secular celebration of humanity that is still called Christmas.

There is Thief Who Has A Plan for Your Life

John 10:10–11 (ESV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus teaches us that we have an enemy who steals much more than presents and ruins more than our holiday celebration. We have a great enemy, the devil, who wants to destroy us.

He doesn’t want us believing or trusting in Jesus.

He certainly doesn’t want our entire culture thinking about Jesus coming into the world as a savior…so he does everything he can to distort the message....he makes Christmas about good things, family, friends, love, and presents. But he keeps the most important person out of our celebration - he wants us to forget Jesus.

This is one of his favorite methods - simply make sinners believe they are their own solution, that they can fix was is broken, that they can reconcile themselves to God and one another without the need of a savior.

Christmas Points Us to Jesus as the One Who Came to Give Life

John 10:10 shows us that Jesus did not come to destroy us, he came to give us life, by giving his life for ours.

I CAME that they may have life and have it abundantly

Abundant life is life as it was originally intended to be before sin came into the world.

Life in God’s presence without end

Life in God’s place without need - future new earth without any defect due to sin

Life under God’s rule and blessing ,which is life that always has purpose and fulfillment

The good shepherd LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE for his sheep.

One of the devils BIG LIES is that we can save ourselves and all we need is each other.

He has always spread the lie that man can have abundant life without God.

In Gen 11 mankind thought they could replicate Abundant life - Genesis 11:4 “4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.””

Essentially they wanted to be their own people, in their own special place and under the rule of their own authority .

We can’t replicate life in God’s presence, place, or under his rule and blessing.

He doesn’t want you know that our ONLY saviour is Jesus and our ONLY hope is that he was born to willingly lay down his life for us.

We aren’t saved by “We” - we can only be saved by HIM - Who is Jesus our Lord.