The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-01-08
RELIGIOUS READING,
Hark! the praising angels say,
Christ was born on Christmas Day
In blest Judea far away.
Hush our pleading spirits say,
Christ be born in us, we pray,
And give our souls their Christmas Day.
From the German.
THE BASAL THOUGHTS OF CHRIST.

THE BASAL THOUGHTS OF CHRIST
The Christmas festival did not como flrst
IN the thought of the church. In the New
Testament there is no trace Of 1t, and in the
later growth OF observances 1t seems Ike an
afterthought suggested by the gospel story,
and doubly welcome as rounding out the
ceremonies of the Christian year. And yet
there is no festival more widely accepted in
the middle and the modern ages as distinct
lively the Christian feast, and none which
expresses the essential message OF our Lord
to the world more fully and widely to those,
who are rot believers. To many, indeed,
it is the one delightful occasion which they
perforce associate with the name and work
of Christ. Its message Is benevolence; its
utieI ance, "Peace upon earth! Good will
toward men!" and those who feel the mellow
spirit or the time feel something of the pur-
pose and essential spirit of the King.
The mellowness OF spirit which we all as
sociate with Christmas time Is due In part,n no
doubt, to its association with childhood, for
which our modern thinking has a very tender
side. Yet this itself Is no chance meeting of
ideas. tits the promise of good foretold and
fulfilled inthe life OF a little child Of which
we think at Christmas, and the love and
care Of little children never found more ex-
OF Jesus. The modern love Of childhood
comes from him who was little
child in stable at Bethlehem. All the
good il It.. in whatever hearts developed
and by whatever gifts or self denial shown,
was suggested by him and will be acknowl-
edged by him In the time OF judgment. And
If the Advent feast holds the attention OF the
world because its keynote is the simplicity of
childhood, that itself means far more than
appears upon the surface, rising to prophetic
melodies Of strength and service for every
man and for mankind.
First of the great basal thoughts of Chris
tiauity which find expression in the Advent
feast is that of Gods search for man. Al
ready, though he lies an infant, wrapped in
swaddling clothes, In the box where the
oxen eat, the angels call him Saviour. It Is
Advent not accident, which we remem.
Der. He whose birth we celebrate, alone Of
all mankind, can say assuredly, in speaking
Of his entrance into this worlds life, II am
come" The world has had religions in
abundance which expressed mans seeking
after God. The glory Of Christianity Is that
Its whole life depends upon the Son OF God
who came, moved by His love for men,
Without this it is. after all. nothing more
than a splendid guess great example Of
right living and high thinking, but futile to
redeem lost sinners. When no embassy could
reach the heavens. the heavens in love
stopped to reveal themselves to men. The
new astronomy has only emphasized the
isolation OF the earth in space. No thought
of man has been so daring as to plan q
hopeful route Of travel to the nearest Of the
planets. We hear much Of the sens and
continents Of Mars, but 1t would be far more
likely that those who live in Mars should
come to us, than that any skill or
knowledge which we possess should enable
US to 60 to them. They may have powers Of
which we know nothing, but we know too
well the limitations Of our state. And 30.
when we think soberly Of 1t the coming of the
divine to share the experience of the human
Is, after all, more likely than that any search
ing Of the human should suffice to find out
God. Christ's freely purposed coming Is the
glory OF Christmastime. Not that we loved
him, but that be loved us. That he chose to
become as one Of US, to begin life on the
earth as little helpless child, to study and
endu!e and labor, and to die at last. that he
might rise again and make our heavenly
dwellings ready, and come again In that more
glorious advent to which the faith Of the
church looks forward. Gt Z q
And the second basal thought OF the
Christmas time is that Of Joy In sacrifice.
Pain and grief are not yet done away, but
they are overcome. Christian joy Is Joy In
ri1ce. When the apostle had enumerated
the trials of the early Christians, he added
out Of bis own experience, .Nay. in all these
things we are more than coDquerors through
him that loved u.s." The way Of the cross Is
the way OF glory-and there Is no other way.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these
things. and to enter into his glory?" the Mas
ter asks Of the two with whom he walked in
the way. 1t Is on this side that our gifts at
Christmas ought somewhere to express the
quality OF the one greatest gift. Thoughtless
exchange In mere fulfllment of q social usage
is meaningless. Our offerings gather value in
precise proportion to the measure of ourselves
which we put into them, just as Christ's gift
is Of measureleas importance to the world
because 1t included the unreserved self-dedt
cation of the Son of God. And as 1t Is the
greatest, so 1t Is the widest gift that ever
blessed the earth. From It's possession and
Its opportunity no child OF man is excluded
who will bring the answering gift Of SELF
Christ will not weigh his worth against oul
worthlessness, but he requires that those tc
whom he gives himself shall hold back moth
ing of their own Upon these terms he takes
our lives and changes them into the image OIL
his own, and while he leads us through the
path OF trial makes US sharers in his Joy o.
overcoming,