I love this poem by Annie Flint.  How well she describes the normal problems in our everyday life.  Statistics tell us that this is one of the worst times of year for depression and the temptation to return to unhealthy methods of relieving our problems.  How do we deal with life especially during this busy Season?  Let’s take a look at how Annie does.

I LOOK NOT BACK

By Annie Johnson Flint

I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,

The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets.

I leave them all with Him who blots the record,

And graciously forgives, and then forgets.

I look not forward; God sees all the future,

The road that short or long, will lead me home.

And He will face with me its every trial,

And bear for me the burdens that may come.

I look not round me; then would fears assail me,

So wild the tumult of earth’s restless seas,

So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,

So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.

I look not inward; that would make me wretched;

For I have naught on which to stay my trust.

Nothing I see save failures and shortcomings,

And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.

But I look up – into the face of Jesus,

For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;

And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,

And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.

This is all fine and good but Who Is the Christ of Christmas?  How can we do what Annie does?  Let’s listen for a minute to our beloved Charlie Grier as He describes to us the answer to this very question.

Knowing Who He Really Was

By Charlie Grier

In a distant land, on a bygone day,

A little BABE in a manger lay.

But who could tell, as He nestled there,

While Mary and Joseph bowed in prayer,

That here on the hay, with His infant cry,

Lay the Master of ocean, earth, and sky?

And then as He taller and fairer grew –

This lad that all of His neighbors knew

To be pleasant and courteous, brave and strong,

With a cheery smile and a hearty song –

Touched their hearts and troubled their minds,

“Who was this lad so gentle and kind?”

They liked His frank, straightforward ways,

His wisdom and words were beyond His days,

And they paused to watch Him fashion wood

In a manner no other craftsman could –

He impressed them much, as a good boy does

But they never dreamed who He really was!

At last a lock is upon the door –

The Carpenter of Nazareth is no more,

But now, a Man with a “ONE-WAY” sign

Is telling the Truth to all mankind.

He is pointing to that “narrow way”

That leads, at last, to Eternal Day;

And they listen just as they did before

Back in His humble work-shop door.

“Never man spake as he,” they cry –

With new hope gleaming in their eye.

“The strength of Elijah he displays,

But he is unlike him in some ways –

Like Jeremiah, he weeps and warns

While favor from the rich he scorns.

Messiah? – No, he cannot be –

No prophet comes from Galilee!”

And so they turned from Him because

They didn’t know who He really was!

Then He showed His love through mighty deeds:

He healed their sick and supplied their needs –

He cleansed the leper and raised the dead –

The hungry multitudes were fed.

He stilled the storm – the poor He blessed –

He offered pardon, peace, and rest!

His critics cried, “He is too meek –

He tries too hard the lost to seek!

We want a leader strong as steel –

Full of courage, strength, and zeal

To rule the world with an iron rod –

Yet, never once claiming to be God.”

At last united, in Pilate’s Hall

A verdict of “death” was agreed by all.

“Envy” brought charges of trumped-up sin.

“Hatred” shouted “Away with Him!”

God’s angry earthquake shook the sod!

Honesty acknowledged, “This was the Son of God!”

At Christmastide, when men of good will

Seek to worship the Christ child still,

Have you stayed too long in Bethlehem town?

Or, have you followed His steps around

To Jerusalem, and Galilee,

And this angry throng at Calvary?

Have you stood amazed beneath the Cross

And cried, “For ME He suffered loss –

It was for ME He bore disgrace –

Bearing MY sin – taking MY place?”

The message of Christmas is more, by far,

Than the angels’ song, or the Wise Men’s star.

Have you stood at the Tomb in ecstasy,

Where nature responded to Deity

And shouted, “Christ is the Victor now

For He conquered DEATH on Calvary’s brow!”

If YOU are not saved, is it not because

You too, haven’t learned who He really was?

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, The Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered and said… Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father…”  Matt. 16:16

-End quote

Someone once said, “The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much!”  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we call all fall in love with Jesus this year and spend not only the next few weeks spreading the Love of God to all around us but have it become a life pattern for the years to come?  When we get to know who Jesus really is, we can let Him fill our lives with meaning and joy!  Let’s let the Christ of Christmas fill us and become contagious so that everyone will come to know that same Wonderful Peace, Joy and Love.