Life is never what it seems and one often dreams the impossible. As the years go by, I became more and more cynical because of the hypocrite state this world is in. Yet, somehow, as much as we might hate a hypocrite, we ourselves often forgive ourselves for being one. We have our reasons and rightfully so since you and I are in a state where at times, we need to be a hypocrite in order to survive. Like during the sales meeting, we have to put on a face which is not ourselves to please our client. We may even compromise our ethics because it is the "conservative" thing to do. You know, creating provisions for the rainy days in our accounts which is another name for cooking the books? So when we hear of peace and love, we are happy, because in a fleeting second, perhaps we can have goodwill to all mankind... until the next sales target of course.
Oh well, we have to survive. It is only natural. We are by definition creatures of evolution where survival of the fittest makes perfect sense. Yes, it is no longer a real jungle out there with trees, it is now, made of concrete. Yet why in the world did we evolve a sense of compassion for others? Or warped up concept of justice? And to make matters worse, create an ultimate super being called God which we cannot please with our own double minded actions? Sigh... we are really hypocrites. Perhaps by having God to condemn us in the afterlife, we seek solace when injustice befalls us. Where we see evil people dine and gamble without a care of the world while multitudes starve because they were on the short end of the bargain.
With so much evil in the world, why must we create false hopes of love, goodwill and sharing on a day in the middle of every winter?
Source: http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/thenativitystory/Yet, a child was born 2,000 years ago. Yes, he was
not born on 25 December. The whole Christmas celebration was instituted in the 4th century to bring paganism into state sanctioned Christianity. It is no longer a fad in the 4th century to be a pagan, Christian is the "in" label. Yet, why must these Christians celebrate someone's birthday when it not their actual birthday?
The message of Christmas which encompassed hope, love, sharing and goodwill to men is not just a seasonal greeting. This is to celebrate and acknowledge the fact that we, as human kind, failed. Yes, that's right. We failed big time. We failed in being loving to our neighbours, we failed in giving hope to the poor and the weak because by trampling on them, we rise up the social ladder. Goodwill is of course, the "conservative" thing to do when customers and/or your boss demand for it. So what if it is a little white lie, we meant no harm right?
Source: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0001/0001_01.asp Yet, would these excuses hold up in His court? If we truly believe in justice and at times, we commit something akin to injustice yet we reasoned our circumstances with limited mental capacity, how would such reason hold with an all-knowing God? Will we truly be exempted?
This of course is not our problem. Our immediate problem is the one we need fixing. We can only think of the long term when we have the time. Don't that sound all too familiar?
Yes, the Christmas message serves more as a reminder that we are hopeless. We are full of excuses. And above all, goodwill to men remain false to us so long as we seek solution via our own hypocrite ways. The reason we gave ourselves for our actions may serve us well but will it truly offer the hope, joy, peace, love and goodwill to our neighbours?
Yet, this child, came into the world with the name Emmanuel which means "God with us". Why must he be born? It was said that this child, grown with so much wisdom and knowledge that at 12, he amazed many great religious teachers in Jerusalem. A child prodigy which makes any parents and town folks proud to be associated with but proclamation that he is the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah? No, no. That wouldn't do. He must die, said those same religious teachers. Afterall, on top of proclaiming who He is, He also exposed them of their hypocrisy. It is only natural to silence Him using all the powers and influence they had. And so He died a lowly death vis-a-vis cruxification as it is the "in" thing for the lowliest of criminals. But the story did end there. Surprisingly, many witnesses spoke of His resurrection 3 days later. You see, they saw Him alive and walking and they were astonised. This was of course foretold by him earlier prior to the arrest, persecution and execution. Yet, why must he be born to die? Well, the answer is simple really. It is because we are hypocrites, adulterers, liars, murderers and thieves. Because we cannot stand the sight of a sinless man, we caused Him to die. We are no different from the religious teachers then. We just don't like our charades to be exposed and our lives changed without our permission.
Source: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0085/0085_01.aspYup, we deserve eternal death. We really do. Instead, He died in our place. He willing laid His life because He looked not at the short term solution but the long term all encompassing solution. He knew we owe God a lot. We are long overdue. And being the only begotten Son, the 2nd Godhead in the Trinity, His blood is the currency that will satisfy our debts in full.
So do you acknowledge you are a sinner like me? Do you know that the message of hope, love and such are meant to tell us that we can have real goodwill amongst men and above all, real peace with our Maker only via the one person i.e. the child born 2,000 years ago who later died for us? So as we exchange gifts and wish everyone well today, let us not forget the real meaning of Christmas. It is not just about wishing someone well and to ease our conscience by doing good once a year. It is a reminder of who we are and that we should be thankful that we have a solution, not made by us but by provision of a loving and merciful God.
So, merry Christmas to all of you and may you, look into the heavens and pray a silent prayer to ask Him not to tarry any longer.
Source: http://www.belhurst.com/Gift-Certificates.html
Source: http://ihmnew.marywood.edu/3.OurSpirituality/ChapelWindows.htm
