ONE SOLITARY LIFE

 

Reason for the Season by Robert Dean Steel

Pastor of Cornerstone Pentecostal Fellowship

    

     Christmas is a time for reflection on the Babe in the Manger.  It is a time to thank the Lord for His goodness and for His favour.   It is a time for Peace on Earth and Good Will to all Men.  This following excerpt I think powerfully explains the meaning of Christmas.  I know this phrase has been extensively but it puts in a nutshell what Christmas is all about.  Today we have powerful social and political forces trying to take Christ out of Christmas.   In some cities the Christmas tree is now called the holiday tree.  In many schools pagents and nativity scenes have been removed.  Sometimes those who oppose Christmas have become too silly that their efforts border on the bizarre.  It has even invaded the church world.  Some churches in their attempt to be politically correct no longer put nativity scenes up or talk about the babe in the manger. 

     Christmas in its simplest and purest form is a celebration of a Saviour.  He is Christ the Lord.  I love the speech Linus Van Pelt gives in the Charlie Brown Christmas special.  Here is Charlie Brown fussing about what Christmas and finally in frustration he cries out, “Does anyone know what Christmas is really all about.  That is when Linus comes forward and quotes Luke 2:8-14,

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rest

    Christmas is a time for reflection and worship.  A time of giving love and receiving love.  A time of thanksgiving for God’s love and goodness.  Remembering what Jesus has done.  Yes, Jesus came as a babe but He did not stay that way He grew up and changed the course of human history.  This little story by Philip Brooks nicely explains Christmas.

One Solitary Life

     Here is a Young man who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman.  He grew up in another village.  He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.  He never wrote a book.  He never owned a home.  He never had a family.  He never went to college.  He never put his foot inside a big city.  He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.  He never did one of the things usually accompany greatness.  He had no credentials but Himself.

     While He was still a Young Man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him.  His friends ran away.  He went through a mockery of a trial.  He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.  While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth and that was His coat.  When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

     Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the central figure of the human race and the leader of a progress.  No single person has affected humanity as this one solitary life.