Holidays
Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday December 1, 2005
The Wise men brought gifts to Jesus. We sure have the gift part of this event we call Christmas spun in a different direction than the first one on the Judean hills long ago. Of course we know the right thought is that God loves us so much He gave His only begotten Son and as Paul states this gift is unspeakable.
An anonymous poet wrote:
‘The wise may bring their learning,
The rich may bring their wealth:
And some may bring their greatness,
And some bring strength and health;
We, too, would bring our treasures
To offer to the king;
We have no wealth or learning,
What shall we children bring?
We’ll bring Him hearts that love Him,
We’ll bring Him thankful praise,
And young souls meekly striving
To walk in holy ways;
And these shall be our treasures
We offer to the King
And these gifts that even
The poorest child may bring.’
The inner desire to give at Christmas time is a good desire, and the accepting of gifts helps to teach us that God’s gift must be received. When the practices of Christmas are thought out they for the most part teach us our need for the Savior and for each other.
I do not the mostly secular idea of modern Christmas celebrations. And at my age I have assuredly read what Britannica has to say about the day and I am more than familiar with pagan ideas associated with some of the day. But I do like the pure simple message of God's love to His fallen undeserving creatures being demonstrated in such a selfless manner. God send the first Hallmark and who can doubt that He cares enough to send the very best.
Take away the silly commercialism of the day and emphasize the sacrificial nature of the day and you are on the way to getting and giving the message of true love, the kind of love God demonstrated in the Gift of Christ, given out of love, pure and simple.
How we besmirch His love when buy our loved ones gifts which they deserve. We did not and do not deserve Christ. But God sent Him to us anyway. And just in the nick of time too.
Larry Lilly © copyright 2005 Use with credit.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 903 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Larry Lilly or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 903 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.