By Jason Soroski 
- A Charlie Brown Christmas has been around for more than 50 years, and the beloved holiday special is one I never miss. This year, it will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ starting on December 4, and the movie will be available for free from December 11-13.
I am a fan of all things nostalgic and all things Christmas, and so when the two are combined I am hooked. A Charlie Brown Christmas falls squarely into that category.
I was in the first grade back when they still performed Christmas pageants in schools (fewer than 50 years, but still a very long time ago), and our class performed a version of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Since I was kind of a bookworm and already had a blue blanket, I was chosen to play the part of Linus. As Linus, I memorized Luke 2:8–14, and that scripture has been hidden in my heart ever since.
But while working so diligently to learn those lines, there is one important thing I didn’t notice until now.
Right in the middle of speaking, Linus drops the blanket.
Charlie Brown is best known for his yellow striped shirt, and Linus is most associated with his ever-present security blanket. Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally, and others all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up.
Until this moment. When he simply drops it.
In that climactic scene when Linus shares what “Christmas is all about,” he drops his security blanket, and I am now convinced that this is intentional. Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words “fear not” (at :38 seconds).
Looking at it now, it’s pretty clear what Charles Schulz was saying through this, and it’s so simple it’s brilliant.
The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.
The birth of Jesus frees us from the habits we are unable (or unwilling) to break ourselves.
The birth of Jesus allows us to simply drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, and learn to trust and cling to Him instead.
The world today can be a scary place, and most of us find ourselves grasping to something temporal for security, whatever that thing may be. Essentially, we live in a world in which it is very difficult for us to “fear not.”
But in the midst of fear and insecurity, this simple cartoon image from 1965 continues to live on as an inspiration for us to seek true peace and true security in the one place it has always been and can always still be found.
Originally published on the author’s blog
You may also like:
Take it From a Pastor, This is All You Need to Be a Great Dad
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Take it From Jesus: You Don’t Always Have To Be the Tough Guy
P.S. You may also love this book entitled I Have (Had) Enough: Memoirs of Abundance in Fatherhood, Friendship, and Faith.
From Amazon: ““Jeff Jacobson is the greatest contemporary American author you’ve never heard of, but it’s time that changed.”
In this profoundly insightful collection, Jeff Jacobson presents a compelling portrait of marriage, parenthood, friendship, and faith. At turns hilarious and excruciating, Jacobson’s stories illustrate our shared human experiences of love and loss and offer fresh insights into the twin dance of pain and grace. The author writes from the heart, gut, and spirit as he mines the everyday to discover life’s essential truths.
“I Have (had) Enough” is better titled “I Have Enough” – enough love for everyone, enough courage to withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous fatherhood, and more blessings than a man deserves.Honest and filled with joy,
I Have (had) Enough is a master-class in love, devotion, and embracing grace wherever you find it.”
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