My Dearest Much Loved Child,
While the existence of Santa Claus might be subject to debate and perhaps the tree might still be in the forest with no sign of the customary packages beneath, there's still great reason for awesome hope and joy regardless of circumstances ... if one can find the true cause - "the true spirit" of Christmas.
It's in the absence of such things as one might find customary in the world at this time of the year, in my personal experience, to have even greater hope of connecting with the true source for celebration. You see, in the absence of the distractions and excitement over other things, one has a greater opportunity for focused reflection and a clearer view of the reasons for true, great and unrelenting joy.
This because long ago, from above the chaos of man, Father God looked down with a broken heart to observe all of mankind that had once held such great hope and promise in His own great heart, was now forever broken and separated from Him. The great hope for all that He had envisioned for man when He created him, was lost by mankind's own failure to observe what Father God had lovingly instructed in His fatherly wisdom.
So mankind was now lost without hope. Dark, dismal and terrifying was his future inheritance to be and deservedly earned by his own irreverence and disobedience. But Father God was not alone in His broken hearted observance. The Light Of The World was with Him and shared in His great sadness. Though mankind had himself invited the darkness that now surrounded him in failure on the earth and deserved to perish, The Light Of The World stepped down from His place near the throne of God and took off His heavenly robes and said ... Father, send me.
And even though He knew in advance all of the terrifying things He must suffer to achieve His most holy and grace filled goal, He also knew that He was mankind's only hope for redemption ...
AND HE CAME!
He didn't come with armies of heavenly host. He didn't come in heavenly robes or accompanying circumstance befitting the great, true, holy Prince of Heaven ... He lowered Himself and came in total humility and in lowly kinship to man. He, The King Of Kings, came to be born of a poor girl of low societal stature, to be born among the lowest places to be found and in the lowliest circumstances.
And while we know much more by God's grace, what Christ Jesus, The Light Of The World suffered in our place, it's His awesomely astounding grace just to come - to lower Himself to walk among us in order to save us, that we who follow Him celebrate in Christmas. So the true spirit of Christmas doesn't require money or trees or fancy wrapped gifts that we could all do without. It doesn't require so many of the things that we might otherwise associate with the day.
It only requires a true recognition of what has been done for all of us, though completely undeserving, by the only one who could - the one who didn't deserve what He took upon Himself for all of us. He came! It requires a heart of true gratitude and awe filled wonder for the astounding gift of His coming. AND if in searching your heart, you can find that - regardless of your current circumstances ...
... you will have found the true spirit of Christmas and your celebration filled with true joy.
Neither where you are, nor your current circumstances can change what's already been done for you. So if you're struggling to find "the spirit of Christmas", it might be that all you need to do is to change the focus of your heart...
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12 KJ
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