[Songs in the Night - December 25]
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
LET us rejoice at this joyful season of the year and
have our hearts filled with appreciation of the divine
love and generosity, which gave us the great gift of
Messiah, and thus indirectly a knowledge of the kingdom
yet to come and of our share in that kingdom,
which shall bless the world.
As we have freely received,
let us freely give, and thus copy our Lord and
the Heavenly Father.
Some may have the opportunity
of giving many gifts of many kinds.
All will have the
privilege of offering to their fellows, directly or indirectly,
gifts of God's love, by making known to them
the riches of his grace, as presented in the "Divine
Plan of the Ages."
The message of God's love is the
most precious thing we have ever received, and let us
have this in mind when offering gifts to others that,
whatever else we may or may not be able to give our
dear friends and neighbors and loved ones, we may
offer them this; and our manner and general deportment
should show how we value it above rubies, and
thus we may best commend the Gift of God to others
and help them to appreciate it.
In such presentations
kind words, kind looks, will proceed from the loving
heart, which has itself been saved by the power of the
truth from the domination of the Adversary and sin
and selfishness.
Let us learn to scatter these gifts of
grace and truth and happifying influences to all about
us, not merely once a year, but every day and every
hour, and not merely upon our friends, but, godlike,
upon our enemies also, for "He is kind to the unthankful,
and causes his sun to shine upon the evil
and upon the good." Z'08-380 R4298:6 (Hymn Appendix W)