"It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us -- the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage -- may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss -- except the inventor of the telephone."
I daresay if Twain were alive today, he might instead deny "everlasting rest and peace and bliss" to the inventors of Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok! Of course, the Good News of the Christmas Event is that there are no exceptions to God's Love for His human creatures -- not even the inventors of social media.
Christmas was not just a starlit night in Bethlehem; it in essence, has existed from the beginning of time.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He made the earth and then gave it away to mankind.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He sent us His prophets.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He sent His Son to earth and gave Him to the world.
As Jesus grew up, there was Christmas wherever He went -- in his giving sight, giving food, giving life -- for Christmas is "giving.
But, here's the catcher. Christmas is also for receiving. In John's Gospel, it is written, "... to all who received Him ... He gave power to become children of God." (John 1:12).
"To all who received Him": When we take those words seriously, we begin to understand that receiving can be just as important as giving. It is when we genuinely receive the gift of Christ that we truly experience the gift that is Christmas and, ideally, we share that gift with others.
There is a little Nativity story that says, "On Christmas Day an enchantment falls upon the earth -- a time when the Spirit of a newborn Child whose Name is Love possesses the world." The way to Christmas, says the story, "lies through an ancient gate, guarded by angels, with stardust in their hair. It is a little gate, child-high, and there is a password: 'Peace on earth to all women and men of goodwill.'"
I daresay if Twain were alive today, he might instead deny "everlasting rest and peace and bliss" to the inventors of Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok! Of course, the Good News of the Christmas Event is that there are no exceptions to God's Love for His human creatures -- not even the inventors of social media.
Christmas was not just a starlit night in Bethlehem; it in essence, has existed from the beginning of time.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He made the earth and then gave it away to mankind.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He sent us His prophets.
*There was Christmas in the heart of God when He sent His Son to earth and gave Him to the world.
As Jesus grew up, there was Christmas wherever He went -- in his giving sight, giving food, giving life -- for Christmas is "giving.
But, here's the catcher. Christmas is also for receiving. In John's Gospel, it is written, "... to all who received Him ... He gave power to become children of God." (John 1:12).
"To all who received Him": When we take those words seriously, we begin to understand that receiving can be just as important as giving. It is when we genuinely receive the gift of Christ that we truly experience the gift that is Christmas and, ideally, we share that gift with others.
There is a little Nativity story that says, "On Christmas Day an enchantment falls upon the earth -- a time when the Spirit of a newborn Child whose Name is Love possesses the world." The way to Christmas, says the story, "lies through an ancient gate, guarded by angels, with stardust in their hair. It is a little gate, child-high, and there is a password: 'Peace on earth to all women and men of goodwill.'"
NOTE: I hope I do not come across as being preachy with "Passing Thoughts." My intention is that these posts, often with a twist, serve only as reinforcement -- yours and mine.
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