I love Christmas! I love the lights and the decorations that you see everywhere. I love the music that fills the season with a constant reminder of the birth of Christ our Savior. I even like hearing all the secular music from “White Christmas” to “Blue Christmas”, from “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. I enjoy the non-stop Christmas movies. In fact the Hallmark Channel runs them back to back for the whole month of December. I never knew there were so many movies about Christmas. Some are good and some are pretty poor but all seem to have the same theme. They try in their own way to remind us to not forget what the true “spirit of Christmas” is. I have three favorite movies that I never tire of watching; “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Miracle on 34th Street” (the original version) and “A Christmas Carol”. My favorite is “A Christmas Carol” and there are three versions of it that I like best. I’m not sure which is my “most favorite”. I like the 1938 version with Reginald Owen, the 1951 version with Alastair Sim and the 1984 version with George C Scott. It is amazing how many times this story by Charles Dickens has been made into a movie. There is even a version starring Mickey Mouse! Why does this story continue to be retold in one movie after another?
From a Christian world view it has very little to do with the true story of Christmas which is the birth of the “Savior who is Christ the Lord”. In fact neither Jesus nor Santa is mentioned in the movie(s) except in the 1938 version where Bob Cratchit is shown in church with his family singing “O Come, All Ye Faithful”. I have yet to read the original story by Dickens. But I do know that much of Dickens’ writing was aimed at exposing the deplorable conditions of the poor and the working class people of his day. But “A Christmas Carol” does have some timeless themes that ring true as much in 2011 as they did in 1843. Those timeless themes are repentance, restoration and relationships. Not only are they timeless themes but they are at the heart of the gospel and the Christian faith itself.
As Scrooge is made to face his past, present and the future that is in store for him because of them, he is brought to the place of repentance. He feels real sorrow for his greed and heartless indifference to those around him and for his pursuit of riches. Riches that he neither uses nor enjoys, much less shares with those around him who are in need. His own words are brought back to convict him of his heartlessness. “Are there no workhouses for the poor” he asks. When he is told that they are not enough to meet the needs of so many and people might die as a result, he responds with, “Let them do so then and decrease the world’s surplus population.” But finally, his heart melts as he is made to face his own lonely death. He sees himself in the indifference toward his passing displayed by his business colleagues in the future that his life has earned. Scrooge cries out for mercy as he lies upon his own tombstone. He says, “I’m a different man than I was when this night started. I can change, I will change!” That is repentance. It begins when we see the truth about ourselves (we are sinners) and about the future it will certainly bring (death, judgment and hell). It continues when we desire to turn from what we were to the point that we do so. Paul wrote, “You turned to God from idols to serve the Living and true God.” A new life and destiny cannot begin until we turn from the old. What a difference when he wakes up on Christmas morning! He was different because he is a new man inside and out.
Then there is Scrooge’s restoration as he becomes the man he was meant to be. Yes he was still a good businessman but for different reasons. He worked hard to help others with his riches instead of hoarding them away. Good not gold was his reason for living now. In salvation, repentance brings us to God so he can regenerate us and make us the kind of person He wants us to be. We become what God created us to be instead of sin’s selfish mockery of God’s good creation. As we are told, “Scrooge was better than his word and he became as good a master and as good a friend as this old city had ever seen. It could be truly said of him that he kept Christmas in his heart all year long.” Our lives are changed when our hearts are changed and only God in Christ can do that. When we turn from sin and self to Christ, our sins are forgiven (mercy) and God gives us a new heart which results in a new life (grace).
Finally we see a change in Scrooge when it comes to relationships. When Scrooge tries to comfort the misery of Marley’s ghost by saying, “You were always a good businessman” Marley screams, “Mankind was my business!” Sadly, it was too late for Marley to understand that the only truly valuable thing in this world is people. God made man for relationship with Himself and with his fellowman. True riches are not a full pocketbook but a heart full of love for God and others, to love and be loved in return. When Scrooge realizes this he seeks to build a relationship with his nephew, Fred and his wife. He seeks to make Bob Cratchit’s life better and help his family. In short, he learned that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
The story and spirit of Christmas are one and the same. Christ came into this world to redeem and restore us to a relationship with God so that we might know and enjoy loving and being loved by those around us. That is why George Bailey (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) was the richest man in town. He had given himself to helping others and he had a town full of friends who loved him because he loved them first. That is what Jesus did for us and “we love Him because He first loved us.”
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year,
Brother Jimmy
