Christmas Day

By now the tree is starting to look a bit old and worn.  The brightly wrapped packages have turned into a pile of opened treasures and another pile of trash.  The Bible has closed on the story of that couple of long ago who tended to the baby Jesus.  And, even though the Christmas season actually stretches forward for twelve days, most folks have closed the song book on the Christmas hymns.  The echoes of "O Come, All ye Faithful"  and "Joy to the World"  do indeed lay heavy in the air, but it will be a year before they truly reverberate through sanctuaries and our hearts again.

 

Perhaps, it is as it must be.  Like an arriving train, Christmas has been much watched for and then, suddenly, it is upon us and gone.  However, the one thing which remains with us is the reality that the One whose birth we celebrate still lives among us.  Through the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, He was born in Bethlehem long ago.  And through what seems like an even more mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Christ continues to linger and live in our hearts.  What a miracle is this Incarnation event!  Its implications and repercussions are not only mind boggling, but life changing.

 

A song which has been much on my heart in these late days of Advent is a song that certainly is appropriate to sing on Christmas Day, or any day.  Written by Harry Clarke, it goes like this:  "Into my heart, into my heart,  Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.  Come in today, come in to stay,  Come into my heart, Lord Jesus."   It is one I have known since boyhood days.  Maybe you remember it, too.  It is a great song of renewing the invitation for Jesus to abide in our hearts.  As I have already said, I have been singing it a lot lately and I invite you to join me.  Let us use these twelve days of Christmas to invite Him anew and afresh in our hearts.