Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 75, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1914 — Yuletide Thoughts [ARTICLE]

Yuletide Thoughts

CHRISTMAS! Does’the word hold special significance for you? Does it mean more than just the day on which Christ was born. . And does it occur to you that because of the birth of Christ the world has emerged from darkness into the civilizing light of humanity^.and Christianity ? And do you remember on this day of universal giving that the Child of the Mafiger was the greatest of all givers? 1 hat he offered up the only thing he had to give—his life? And if Christ could .give HIS LIFE that we might have joy in our souls, could we not give JUST A LITTLE that some one less fortunate may taste of the blessings of this day ?

ONLY A WORD! ~ So little, and so easy to give! And yet that word, if spoken, might bring cheer and a little brightness of the life of some lonely person this Christmas day—a day which to them may hold little of joy, may even be but an empty name, a tantalizing phantom of the brain. f Shall we pass beyond the beaten track and speak that word ? Shall we make just a little effort to radiate the sunshine of our existence yet a Tittle way beyond our own firesides? Shall we devote a few minutes of the day to the gladdening of the heart of some wanderer who has no husband, no wife’, no children, possibly NO HOME? Only a word! But there are times in our lives when even a word is more precious than gold.

And the little ones ! Did you ever pass a child on Christmas day and forget to extend it greeting? Pro'bably you have —we all have. And little children are so appreciative on Santa’s day! They like to be remembered—4o feel that they are of some use in the world—that they are of sufficient importance to command recognition from their elders from “grown ups.” You was a child once, with the same sensitive heart that beats in each little breast, and you will remember how pleased you felt when some man or woman patted you on the head and gave you a kindly wiord. Are YOU going to remember the little ones on this day this day that should be joyful to them, as well as to you?

P ERHAPS there is some one in this community who 'has no relatives, no close friend, no one to extend them the greeting s of Christ’s day, no one who cares if they be as the sheep that is lost from the fold. Most likely there is. And quite likely in the enjoyment of our own blessings we will be forgetful of the fact that close to us' “some one” is spending a sad and lonely day—that “some one” has not received the message of good cheer—.that “some one” may want for a crust of bread—that “some one” may eveh wonder if God ever intended that Christmas should be for them I But it is the way of the world today. And we are of the world, and of today, and forgetful. It might be different. It COULD be different. BUT WILL IT?

HOW MANY TIMES have you passed an acquaintance or a stranger on Christmas day with but a perfunctory “good morning,” or a nod of the head? And how often has the same courtesy been extended to you? “Merry Christmas, George!” “Greetings of the day, stranger!” How much different these would sound, and what a smile of pleasure iit would bring to the stranger within your gates. But we are worldly, and think mostly of self, and of the pleasures WE are to derive from the day. . • And the stranger passes on, with a little tightening of the heartstrings at hardness of? the world. It might be different. But it isn’t.

WHAT WILL this Christmas day be to us, anyway? W ill it be just a day of rest—of turkey, and of cransauce, and of all the numerous gifts which our relatives ana friends will shower upon us? Mill it be just a WORLDLY Christmas? Or shall we set asjde an hour or so to the memory of the one whose birth we celebrate, of the one who parted with His all wiithout a pang of regret? Shall we.listen to the soft toned words of the minister, as he tells-the marvelous story of the Christ—of the man of all men—of the one whose memory and whose deeds live from the manger to the end of time. Shall we? ’ . And shall we.ask a friend to go with us? Shall we ask the stranger within our midst? Christ gave much for us. It is the least we could do for him.