The Yuletide Spirit

There is no time of the year when people generally are so moved to kindly consideration of others as when the whole professed Christian world is recalling anew the wondrous circumstances connected with the first advent of our blessed Lord. Even the worldlings who know Him not as their own Saviour cannot but feel the impress of the marvelous love of God in the great gift bestowed upon mankind when He sent his Son that He might become in due time the propitiation for our sins. Bethlehem, apart from Calvary, would be utterly incomplete. It was on Calvary that our Lord Jesus accomplished that for which He was born in Bethlehem. His own words confirm this: “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” He Himself is the supreme gift, and surely those who have received Him as such and know Him as their own personal Saviour should be characterized by the same spirit that was seen in Him.

The apostle Paul, in addressing the Ephesian elders, refers to a saying of Christ which is never recorded in the four Gospels and yet he speaks of it in such a way as to make it evident that the words were frequently uttered by the Lord Jesus. The passage might literally be rendered, “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he was wont to say, it is more blessed to give than to receive.” This characterized His whole life and it should just as truly be characteristic of the lives of His people. For us, Christmas should be a perpetual celebration if we think of it as a time of sharing with others the good things God has bestowed upon us. But particularly at the Yuletide it is well for us to challenge our hearts as to whether we find more delight in ministering to the needy than in receiving expressions of love ourselves.

When the Jews were delivered from the power of Haman through Esther’s intercession, they instituted the Feast of Purim and made it an occasion for sending gifts one to another. There was no definite command to institute this feast as in the other instances recorded in the 23rd of Leviticus, but it was the gratitude of their own hearts that led them thus to think of the needs of their brethren. So, we may say, it has largely been in Christendom in regard to the annual celebration of the advent season. Nowhere in Scripture are we told just when our blessed Lord was born and that in itself is evidence that we should not be under law as to keeping of days and months and times and seasons. But surely there is nothing in Scripture to forbid when the gladness of heart we who are saved seek to emulate the grace of our God, in ministering in love and kindness to others who are less fortunate than ourselves. Unhappily, we often confine our giving, or at least the best of our giving, to our intimate associates, members perhaps of our own families, some of whom need least of all the gifts that we bestow. Would there not be greater blessing if at this season we were continually seeking out those in real need and distress, endeavoring to share with them what God in His loving kindness has entrusted to us? Then, indeed, we would know the truth of our Lord’s words referred to above, and enjoy in our souls the higher blessedness of giving in His own name instead of receiving.

And surely we should not confine our gifts to mere temporalities, but use this glad season of the year as a special occasion for directing men’s attention to the salvation which God has so freely offered, remembering our responsibility to pass on to others what has meant so much to us. In so doing, we may be assured of the Lord’s approval and we can count on abundant fruit to be manifested in a coming day.