Who Should Be Our Christmas Guest?

It is Christmas week, and our thoughts should be on Jesus Christ and His mission to redeem all the children of God. He can redeem us only as soon and as much as we allow Him to influence us and our lives. A good start is to invite Jesus Christ into our Christmas celebration. A friend sent this story written by Helen Steiner Rice in her Christmas card.

It happened one day near the year’s winter end,

Two neighbors called on their long-time good friend;

And they found his shop, most often meager and lean,

Made merry with a thousand boughs of green.

And their friend was sitting with face all a-shine

When suddenly he stopped as he stitched a twine,

And said, “Old friends, at dawn today,

When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me,

And said, “I am coming your guest to be.”

So I’ve been busy with feet astir;

Strewing my shop with branches of fir.

The table is spread, and the kettle is shined,

And over the rafters the holly is twined.

And now I will wait for my Lord to appear

And listen closely so I will hear

His step as He nears my humble place,

And I will open the door to His celestial face.

So his neighbors went home leaving him alone,

For this was the happiest day he had known,

‘Ere, long since his family had all passed away,

Their friend has spent many a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest

This Christmas would be the dearest and best.

So he listened with sweet joy in his heart,

And with every sound he would rise with a start,

And look for the Lord to be standing there

In answer to his earnest prayer.

Then he ran to the window after hearing a sound,

But all that he saw on the snow-covered ground

Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn

Wrapped in clothes so ragged and worn.

The shopkeeper was touched and went to the door

And said, “Your feet must be frozen and sore,

I have some shoes in my shop for you

And a coat that will keep you warmer, too.”

As the shopkeeper noticed the time of day

He wondered what made the dear Lord delay?

Then he heard a knock and ran again to the door,

It was another stranger just as before.

A bent, old crone with a shawl of black,

A bundle of kindling piled on her back;

She asked only for a place to rest,

But that was reserved for his Heavenly Guest.

Her voice seemed to plead, “Don’t send me away

Let me rest awhile on Christmas Day.’

So, he brewed her a bowl steaming to the brim,

But after she left, he was filled with dismay

For he saw that the hours were passing away;

And the Lord had not come as He said He would,

The shopkeeper felt sure he had misunderstood!

When out of the stillness he heard a plea,

“Please tell me, kind sir, where might I be?”

So again, he opened his friendly door,

And stood disappointed as twice before,

It was only a child who had wandered away

Lost from her family on Christmas Day.

So he invited her in and wiped her wet tears

And carefully quieted her heart-felt fears.

Then he led her back to her home once more

But as he entered his own darkened door,

He knew that the Lord was not coming today;

For the hours of Christmas had passed away.

He went to his room and knelt down to pray

And said, “Dear Lord, why did You delay?

What kept You from coming to call on me,

For I wanted so much Your face to see.”

When soft in the silence a gentle voice he heard,

“Lift up your head, for I kept My word.

Three times My Spirit crossed your floor.

Three times I came to your lonely door.

For I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet,

I was the woman you gave to eat,

And I was the child on the homeless street.

Three times I knocked and thee times I came in,

And each time I found the warmth of a friend.

Of all the gifts, love is the best,

I was honored to be your true Christmas guest.”

Merry Christmas to all!