Saturday, December 13: “The Christmas Shoes” by Newsong
I have a confession to make. When I was around the age of ten, I played Nathan in a stage production of “The Christmas Shoes” at my church. That’s right, I was the boy who purchased the infamous shoes for his terminally ill mother. Thankfully, my real-life mom is fine, but the song always brings back memories.
The song itself feels simultaneously sweet and oddly morbid. Is the song about a child’s brave act to honor his mother’s final moments? Or is the point of the song that a scrooge-type business man remembers the truth of Christmas via a kid’s tragic situation at home?
I know a lot of people love “The Christmas Shoes” and it gives them warm fuzzy feelings. Truthfully, I come away feeling like the song is just odd. But however you feel about it, I do think at its best, the song is a reminder of a forgotten theme of Christmas: sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed the glory of Heaven to be close to his creation, and to eventually die at its hands, just so we could be reconciled to Him.
Conversation starter:
“Do you think “The Christmas Shoes” is sweet or weird?”
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