Some Children See Him

The Alfred Burt carol, “Some Children See Him,” written 50 years ago, is one of my favorite Christmas carols. Although it wasn’t a part of any Christmas worship services I attended this year, the James Taylor version got plenty of airtime on our car’s CD player, as it does each year.

Some children see Him
Lily white,
The baby Jesus
Born this night.
Some children see Him
Lily white,
With tresses soft
And fair.

There is something special about the way children see Jesus. This was evident at a Christmas worship service I attended that was led by the children at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Tempe, Arizona. Not distracted by parents trying to capture the service on video, the children took great care to reenact the gathering of shepherds, angels and wise men around the Christ child’s manger. The children also helped us understand the importance of all of God’s creatures in the Christmas story, even the camel that helped deliver gifts to the baby Jesus!

Some children see Him
Lily white,
The baby Jesus
Born this night.
Some children see Him
Lily white,
With tresses soft
And fair.

I also thought about how some children see Him the following week when I happened upon a TV interview with a young boy who has become quite famous for reporting on his experience in heaven and seeing Jesus when he had a near-death encounter as a four-year-old. His experience has been translated into the best-selling book, “Heaven is For Real.” Jesus, as seen by this boy, has long brown hair and blue eyes.

Some children see Him
Bronzed and brown,
The Lord of heav’n
To Earth come down.
Some children see Him
Bronzed and brown,
With dark
And heavy hair.

During the Christmas weekend, I read a report on homelessness in the United States and around the world. This provided yet another sense of how children see Him, or perhaps more accurately, why Jesus loves and understands them. Like Jesus, so many children today arrive into the world without a home of their own. Many spend a portion, or all, of their childhood homeless. According to the National Center for Family Homelessness, 1.6 million children were homeless in the United States in 2011, an increase of 38% since 2007. Data from UNICEF indicates that these children are a small percentage of the over 100 million street children worldwide.

Some children see Him
Almond-eyed,
This Savior whom
We kneel beside.
Some children see Him
Almond-eyed,
With skin
Of yellow hue.

Praise God for those who work tirelessly to decrease these numbers and to help children who are homeless see Jesus through the caring touch of people in Christian congregations and organizations. Three great examples of God’s people reaching out in this way are new ministries that recently received seed grant awards from Wheat Ridge Ministries in Oregon, Florida and in Ghana, West Africa.

Some children see Him
Dark as they,
Sweet Mary’s Son
To whom we pray.
Some children see Him
Dark as they,
And, ah
They love Him, too!

Thank you for supporting new ministries like these through Wheat Ridge Ministries and for helping children and adults see Jesus through the many ways you care for the health and healing of others. Enjoy the blessings as you let your light shine during this season of Epiphany and throughout the new year!

The children
In each diff'rent place
Will see
The baby Jesus' face
Like theirs,
But bright
With heav'nly grace,
And filled
With holy light.

O lay aside
Each earthly thing
And with thy heart
As offering,
Come worship now
The infant King.
‘Tis love
That’s born tonight!

“Some Children See Him” - Words by Wihla Hudson; Music by Alfred Burt