Merry Christmas! As I sit here writing this chilly morning,
I can only but, go back, to where I learned the true meaning of Christmas. It
was not in front of a brightly colored Christmas tree surrounded by family,
there were no stockings hung by the chimney with hopes that St. Nick would soon
be there. The verdict was in, I had not made santa’s good list, in fact I was
incarcerated because I had indeed been a very bad boy and even if I could
possibly change, I could do nothing with all the wrongs of my past.
Yet it was at this very darkest moment that I heard the
message of Christmas, that the Only begotten Son of God came into this dark sin
filled, vile, evil world and gave His life so that vile dark hearted sinners
such as I could have a new life. Talk about light in a dark world. There are
fewer places darker than prison. Yes, there are darker places and yes, I have
been there as well. But to hear that not only could I have my slate clear but
to know that God loves me and that I am wanted was music to my ears.
It was then and there that the words to those timely Christmas
songs came to life” Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, Til He
appeared and the soul felt it’s worth.” O Come O Come Emanuel, God with us.” I
recognized that it was never the presents under the tree, but His Holy Presence
hanging on that tree for my sins that made the celebration of His birth so
special to me.
Yes, that was it! There in those dark prison cells on Christmas
morn, I learned that though a man possess nothing, if Christ possesses him, he
possesses everything. Talk about Merry Christmas!
That is why on this eve of Christmas, I went with a group of
men and women into Putnam Correctional Facility where we shared the love of God
with men who find themselves right where they need to be, that is, that we all
have a past that is broken and can only be healed by coming to the foot of the
cross, humbling ourselves, acknowledging that we are sinners who have offended
a holy and awesome God, who in spite of ourselves, loves us and offers eternal
pardon because of the gift that He offered up in our behalf. Eternal life is
freely given but the gift, although free, was not cheap. Do you possess this
gift and if so are you sharing it with others?
The world celebrates an altogether different picture of Christmas. May we remind
ourselves that it is not the presence under the tree, but His Presence on the
tree that makes this day holy. If we have received the free gift of Eternal
Life , than let’s go tell it on the mountain…That Jesus Christ was born.
Merry Christmas!
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