The Single Present Sufferer ~ B
Soul Snack 224/12 ... The Single Present Sufferer ~ B#
(This SoulSnack is sequential to The Single Present Sufferer ~ A)
My school mate who shares a birth date with Jesus would prefer if there was a serious rethink about dating Christmas. Such is his chagrin, that once he reads these thoughts, I suspect him scrambling through history texts to categorically identify the date of that night in the stable and re-correct all wrong.
Perhaps a rethink may be healthier– but one of a different kind. Here are three strategies that may help:
1. Imagine a circumstance where there are no presents for anyone at Christmas. This is the reality
for most of the world. With the average wage of $2.00 per day, families in poorer countries consider
fresh bread on 25th December as the one luxury they can look forward to.
2. Imagine how God must have felt on that first Christmas, knowing the fate that awaited His only
Son at the end of His earthly journey.
3. Imagine the ability to focus more on the joy he brought to others by giving rather than the angst he
creates through his own vocal lack of getting.
Who knows how I would feeI? I hope that I would not be so demoralised by receiving less than the next person. Perhaps that is just human nature and I am kidding myself – after all, it is easy to look down your nose at a 25th December, Single Present Sufferer when you are a 18th March, Bonus Present Beneficiary.
I guess it’s all relative. I have kept in touch over the years – long enough to know that he will wake up angry again this Christmas. Let’s pray I am wrong.
And you, my child, will... shine on those living in darkness... to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Lk 1:76 & 79)
This Christmas ~ open the blinds and let the Son shine in.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"When love is felt, the message is heard." ~ Jim Vaus
# This SoulSnack was written by Dr Stuart Quarmby Principal of Wollondilly Anglican College - reproduced and edited with gracious permission by SoulSupply.