CHRISTMAS EVE. I think we’re going to get a bunch of snow today (for a genuine “white Christmas,” but no matter what the weather is like or what’s going on in the world (including some very SAD things), this is the time when we commemorate the birth of the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD… JESUS CHRIST. Oh, what a beautiful thing it is to be reminded of Him – His life, His mission, His atoning sacrifice, His example of all that is good and pure and true and holy. I’m sharing two poems which I’ve loved and pondered for at least 30 years. They may be familiar to you, or perhaps not. Either way, let them add to your thoughts and gratitude on this CHRISTMAS EVE.
SAVIOR (By Margery S. Stewart)
So should I, Lord, Have hung upon that cross
Which I had fashioned, year on unthinking year,
And felt the nails’ torment,
The bitter burn of thirst
And life’s slow falling loss.
Save that upon a day thou
Didst quietly take my place,
And died, thorned there, between the thieves,
While angels wept
And earth in darkness mourned
The winnowed stillness of thy holy face.
And on what desolate crosses
Men have died
Rejecting thee, thine offer and thy love…
For who is there to listen In that dark. . .
Or be in a lighted instant at his side?
For if the thief could know
He steals to build the beam
On which he will be nailed by and by,
How fiercely he would strive
To find thee past the dark deceptive dream.
The cross, compassionate Lord, was never thine
But composite of all crosses, such as mine.
(PAINTING BY CARL BLOCH)
TO CHRIST CRUCIFIED (Anonymous)
It is not the heaven that thou promised me,
My Lord, that moves me to love Thee;
Nor is it the hell that I so fear
That moves me to cease sinning against Thee.
Thou movest me, Lord; it moves me to see Thee
Nailed to the cross and despised;
It moves me to see Thy body wounded;
The insults Thou suffered and Thy death move me.
Finally, Thy love moves me so much
That even if there were no heaven,
I should love Thee;
And even if there were no hell
I should fear Thee.
Thou needest not give me a reason to love Thee
For though my present hope were all despair,
As now I love Thee, I should love Thee still.
MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS EVE BE FILLED WITH JOY AND PEACE, AND WITH GRATITUDE FOR THE SAVIOR! With love, MEE