Hello
dear friend!
Well,
as you know, it's time for my birthday again. Last year, they had a real
big party for me, and it seems like they will again this year. After all,
they've been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there have been
announcements and advertisements almost everyday about how soon it's coming!
They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that at least on one
day of the year some people are thinking about me a little.
You
know, it's been many years now since they first started celebrating my birthday.
Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is for the
little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing the
point of it all.
Like
last year, for example. When my birthday came around, they threw a big
party, but can you believe it? I wasn't even invited! Imagine!
The guest of honor, and they forgot all about me! Here they had begun
preparing for the festivities two months in advance, but when the big day came,
I was left out in the cold! Well, it happened so many times in recent years, I
wasn't even surprised. Even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just
quietly slip anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side.
Everyone
was drinking, laughing and having a grand time, when all of a sudden, in came
this fat fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a phony white beard and shouting,
"Ho, ho, ho!" He looked like he had more than enough to drink,
but he somehow managed to weave his way running the floor while everyone
cheered. When he collapsed into a big armchair, all the little children
went running over to him excitedly yelling, "Santa! Santa!" I
mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was in
his honor!
Then
he began telling them the most ridiculous stories you've ever heard! . . . that
he lives at the North Pole with a crew of dwarfs and that every year on my
birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer, giving
presents to children all over the world! I mean there wasn't a word of truth in
anything he said! Imagine telling such little impressionable kids such
far- fetched fables!
Finally
I just had to leave. I walked out of the door, and it was hardly
surprising that no one even noticed that I had gone. As I walked down the
street afterward, I felt about as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog! I could
hardly remember the last time I'd felt that low. Maybe you don't think I
cry...
That
little manger scene you had put up in the corner of your living room was really
touching! It's sweet of people to commemorate my birthday like that.
But did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities won't even
allow manger scenes to be placed in the parks, streets, or public places
anymore! Not to mention their schools! And I'm not talking about
Communist countries! I'm talking about the USA. Imagine! What
could be more innocent that a manger scene to remind people of my birthday?
And yet they ban it! They've actually passed laws against it and made it
illegal! What's this world coming to?
Another
thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me presents, most
people give gifts to each other! And to top it all off, it's usually all kinds
of stuff they don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't you find it odd if
when your birthday came along, and all your friends decided to celebrate it by
giving each other presents and never gave you a thing? Someone once told me,
"Well, it's because you're not around like other people are, so how can we
give you a present?"
You
know my answer to that one. "Then give gifts of food and clothing to
the poor, help those who need it. Go visit the lonely!" I said,
"Listen, any gift you give to your needy fellow man, I'll count as if you
gave it to me personally!" (See Matthew 25:34-40).
It
reminds me of what happened recently to a friend of mine, a sweet elderly
fellow. He's from the poorer side of town and he's been trying
unsuccessfully for years to join a church, but it's a very exclusive church for
the 'proper' kind of folks. They just did not think he was good enough to
be a member. I found him one day sitting by the church steps with his head
on his hands bowed, and I asked him what was wrong. He told me about
it, and I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew just how he felt.
I've wanted to enter that same church for twenty years, and they've never let
in, either!
Well
there's an end even to my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a secret.
Now this is something I've been planning on doing for quite sometime. The
way things are going, I'm planning on holding my own party! How about
that? It's going to be the biggest, most fantastic feast you could
possibly imagine! It might not happen this year. But I'm sending out
the invitations anyway, because I know you'll want to come. There's going
to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really
famous old-timers and celebrities are going to be there, and I'll reserve you a
seat of honor right with them! (Mat. 8:11)
So
hold on to your hat, because when everything is ready, I'm going to spring it as
a big surprise! And a lot of people are going to be left out in the cold
because they didn't answer my invitation. Let me know right away if you'd
like to come, and I'll reserve you a place and, write your name in large golden
letter in my great big Guest Book!
Much
Love, JESUS