There is one part in the movie A Christmas Carol that always brings tears to my eyes. It takes place early in a dialogue between Scrooge and his nephew, Fred. Scrooge makes the statement that Christmas never did his nephew any good. Fred’s response is as follows:
“There are many good things from which I have not profited, I daresay. Christmas among them. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely. And therefore, though it has never put a scrap of gold in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good; and I say, God bless it!”
These words always encourage my heart and renew my sense of purpose of expressing the love of God every day to those around me. They remind me to wake up each day aware of the opportunities I will have to be kind, forgiving, charitable, and to bring some good and pleasantness into the lives of those I encounter – especially the Scrooges in the world!
In Charles Dickens’ story, Scrooge is given the opportunity to dispel the shadows of the things that would have been. He’s confronted with the truth that although he had acquired financial wealth and success, he had wasted his life and negatively impacted everyone around him. He learned where his works would ultimately lead him; all his works were as filthy rags and returned him death, not life. This story has a good ending – Scrooge changed for the better.
We believers know that there is one way to change the course of our lives – one way to receive the power to change for the better and live in such a way as to impact those around us with love.
That one way is Jesus – born in a dirty manger. He came to be born in our own dirty hearts and transform them into royal thrones for His Spirit – dispatching His love and light into the world.
Be encouraged! Jesus gives you the power to live like this all the time, not just one holiday.
