My Favorite Christmas Special Conversions

I watched Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with my kids last night. It's one of my favorites. In addition to the great narration by Boris Karloff, the clever rhymes and Thurl Ravenscroft's excellent "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," it's a perfect illustration of successful example evangelism.

We see old Grinch sitting at the top of his mountain bemoaning all the "noise, noise, noise" that is to come Christmas morning from Whos down in Who-ville. He'd endured it for 53 years and he'd had enough. So he set out to crash their party by stealing all their goodies down to the last crumb. And as we all know, that's exactly what he did.

But the Whos were true believers. Instead of wailing about all their lost stuff (as the Grinch had expected) the Whos came out singing praises. And it puzzled the Grinch's puzzler to be sure. At that moment, you can actually see the Holy Spirit speaking to the Grinch's spirit about the true meaning of Christmas, Emmanuel.

The rest is history. The Grinch is saved and with the power of the Holy Spirit, he lifts up a 1,000 pound sleigh full of Who-goodies, returns everything miraculously by sledding down a mountain with a grade of about 70 percent and breaks bread with the very forgiving Whos. I mean, this used to be a guy who nobody would touch with a 39 and half foot poll. Beautiful.

I also like Charlie Brown's conversion in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." This story is about the power of God's Word to save. The whole show Charlie walks around feeling all empty inside when he's supposed to be feeling happy. And then, after enduring his usual beat-down from the Peanuts gang, he yells out to God in desperation, "Is there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?"

Well, God answered. Child evangelist Linus Van Pelt begins quoting Scripture to the ol' block head and what do ya know, Charlie gets it. Like with the Grinch, you can actually see the conversion. And it ends with Charlie skipping off with a big smile on his face and Luke 2:11-12 ringing in his head.

I like the other Christmas specials too, but they seem to have a bit too much Santa and not enough Jesus.

Comments

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1. CCSurfer said the following at 2:33 PM on Nov 29:

Sorry, Motte, but methinks that should read:

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch."

A bit nit-picky, I know, but a pet peeve of mine. Keep up the good work, though. Boundless is a constant source of encouragement to me.

2. Jerry said the following at 2:42 PM on Nov 29:

"The Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day."

I love days when that happens to me.

3. Ahnivah said the following at 4:48 PM on Nov 29:

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" is by far my favorite Christmas special. Linus's telling of the story of Christ's birth is so honestly and beautifully rendered, it speaks to the need for Christians to come to Christ with a "childlike faith." That's what Christmas is all about.

4. Reid said the following at 7:48 AM on Nov 30:

You forgot to include the other genius involved in the Grinch special: Chuck Jones (during the sled ride, it's quite clear that this was the same guy who worked on Roadrunner cartoons).

I think applying Christian connotations to it may be a little bit of a stretch (its Christmas focus appears to be squarely on Christmas trees, gifts, feasting, and Santa), but the Grinch's repentance is heartwarming nevertheless.

5. Leann said the following at 7:51 AM on Nov 30:

These are my two favorite Christmas specials as well. I love Dr. Suess as well as Charles Shultz. They were both masterful writers and spoke to both children AND adults, especially those adults (like me) who still watch Christmas specials!

6. Carrie Lea said the following at 9:32 AM on Nov 30:

Wow, Motte,

I've been a fan of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for years, and even I will admit that you would be hard-pressed to find any direct mention of Jesus or the Holy Spirit in that film. Perhaps Focus on the Family has trained me too well to look for the distinction between honoring Jesus and honoring mere good feelings or intentions. The show seems to say "It's not all about presents," while being very vague as to what it IS about. Cute show, nonetheless.

Then again, I find that the most meaningful celebration of Jesus's birth has nothing to do with Christmas. Most Bible scholars, based on clues about John the Baptist's time of conception, would agree that Jesus was probably born in early fall, rather than early winter. As most Christians have been taught little or nothing about the biblical festivals (Leviticus 23), most do not make the connection that the birth of Jesus most likely took place during the festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Just realizing that gives me a sense of awe at God's timing. Just as He knew ahead of time when Jesus would be crucified (Passover) and resurrected (First Fruits of Barley), when He would send the Holy Spirit (Shavuot/Pentecost), He also knew when His Son would be born (Sukkot). All of these "appointed times" were laid out way back in the time of Moses. It amazes me that more Christians do not share my wonder at this. And after all, why not celebrate a time that God Himself appointed, rather than a time that was previously celebrated by pagans as Saturnalia? ("4000 years of Christmas," anyone?)

It is even possible that Jesus was born in a sukkah (the temporary shelters built for Sukkot). The "manger" could also be translated "food-tray," which would be found in a sukkah to keep (human, not animal) food from sitting on the ground. John tells us that Jesus "dwelt [tabernacled] among us" (John 1:14). Zechariah 14:16, speaking of the coming Messianic age, says, "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles."

I don't know about you, but I'm excited to join in this celebration now! Long live the Messiah, our King!

7. Jake said the following at 9:57 AM on Nov 30:

Maybe we could get a guest column to expand on Carrie's remarks about the feasts? I know I would read it with great interest.

8. kman said the following at 1:22 PM on Nov 30:

I loved the Grinch cartoon, still do.

But it always irked me that Christmas, the holiday, was the focus and not Christ. No mention of Christ himself as being the whole center for the holiday.

The ONLY supernatural element that I saw was at the end when the Whos were all gathered around the tree and singing. Some sort of ball of light rose up into the sky. Other than that they stripped the supernatural completely out of Christmas.

Maybe I should go watch this weekend with a different eye. ;)

9. Carrie Lea said the following at 3:37 PM on Nov 30:

Jake,

I would love to see a Boundless article on the festivals myself. Most Christians aren't taught much about them, but Denise Morris seems to be interested in such things. Maybe she could do it? :)

Here are a couple of websites you may be interested in. They give outlines of the festivals with their Messianic (Christian) connections:

http://www.lightofmashiach.org/moedim.html

http://www.messianic.com/articles/moedim.htm

I don't necessarily agree with everything on these pages, but they will give you an idea. In my experience, the more digging you do, the more fascinating information you will come across. Not everyone agrees on the details, but the connections to our faith are strong. Note: "Yeshua" = Jesus, "Ruach" or "Ruach HaKodesh" = Holy Spirit. Enjoy!

10. Abby said the following at 12:40 AM on Dec 4:

Hey Carrie,
You should check out The Star of Bethlehem. It deals with the beauty of the timing of Christ's birth even as recorded in heavens by astronomy. It is incredible!

11. Carrie Lea said the following at 8:59 AM on Dec 4:

Abby,

Thanks for the suggestion! Is that a book? Do you know the author?

12. Becca said the following at 6:38 PM on Dec 4:

I always cry watching the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol". It's a doozy of a redemption story...