When I picked up my son from school today, he caught a glimpse of the bags of toys stashed in the trunk that were Christmas gifts meant for him. I knew what he was going to ask next.

"Can I open a Christmas gift now?" No, you must wait until Christmas. "How many days until Christmas?" 15. "Other kids get to open presents early". Of course I wanted a list, names and numbers.

At that instant I was overpowered by the real reason for the season, and I wanted to share this reason with my son.

I told my son that everyday he receives a Christmas gift and that gift is from God. God gave to us His Son, Jesus. The day we celebrate Christmas and the exchanging of gifts is the day that Jesus was born into this world. I went on to say that Jesus' birth is really a daily gift. He was sent by God to teach us salvation, to love one another, to be good and to believe in him. And if we open this Christmas gift everyday and play with it, we will live in heaven with Jesus forever.

I continued and pointed out to my son the gifts he already had. I pointed to our home. Warmth surrounded it. Love was inside. We had food, water, clothes, trees...

My son had been silent the whole ride home, I was not sure that he had heard a word I had said.

As I turned off the car I asked my son what he got for Christmas today. He looked up at me with a smile. "Jesus", he said, and off he ran.