Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-26

leads to the manger to witness In spirit
the fuhnment of the prophecies In the
coming of the Redeemer who Is Christ
the Son Of God made man.
1--WE adore today the mystery of the In
carnation. We thank God for It, 1t ex-
presses to us the Infinite mercy and love
OF God, who became man that he might
atone for the sin which man had com
mitted against the majesty and love OF
God. The mystery OF the incarnatior
presents to us the two natures Of Christ
the human and tn, divine.
See Beneath Veil
'It bids us see in the child of Bethle-
hem our humanity in It's nobility and
beauty, free from sin; it bids us see under
the veil of mat humanity the divine SOP
of God who assumed our humanity In
his person as Christ the Lord, In order
that by our human nature he might be
capable of suffering, and by his divine ma
ture that suffering might be deihed so
that it would be sufficient to atone for
the sins of man against the God wh7
had been offended.
Jesus Christ, then, Is the son of God
and the son of man-two natures in one
person, and that person Jesus Christ, our
Lord In the mystery of the incarnation
we recognize mercy and holiness; mercy
which came to the help of sinful man.
and holiness which becomes the san o.
God, and through which divine mercy
Is dispensed to us. God did not need our
humanity. He needed nothing, as he was
sufficient unto himself; but he assumed
our humanity because he loved us and
that he might benefit us. He was life,
life eternal; and he brought life to us and
his life became the light of man; he was
holiness, eternal holiness; he came to
man that by his grace they too might
be made holy; he was truth, eternal
truth; and he came that men might know
truth and be enlightened by 1t and thus
become the sons of God.
Our Ransom Paid
1--WE cannot sufficiently estimate the
meaning of Christmas day to us az
Christians. On that day the Saviour of
the world was born to us; the child OF
Bethlehem paid our ransom by his sac
riice; our souls through his blood. are
free from sin; our minds by his truth arc
enlightened; our humanity is ennobled:
our salvation made certain. That child
of Bethlehem is the great central figure
in all history; he is the pivot around
which all history moves. Humanity owes
to him it's redemption from the CALLING
yoke of sin; humanity owes to him its
salvation from the degradation of SEN
suality.
''By his grace man is enabled to rule
himself, to control his appetites, to mas
ter his passions, and to reach out to the
fullness of the dignity of his human
character. BY his love man becomes the
follower of the highest life, the child of
the spiritual, the master Of the goodness
of Christ.
"rBy the sacrifice of Christ, man is en-
abled to offer to God the worship which
alone satisfies the obligation of the crca-
ture to the Creator When we study the
conditions of the world without Christ
in the days of pagan domination. of
heather worship. we are appalled, at tho
degradation which came to human ma
ture When on the other hand we con
slider the blessings brought to humanity
by Christ and the church of Christ, we
are amazed at the wonderful power Of
the grace of God over poor, weak human
nature.
Becomes Great Teacher
1--WE are forced to chronicle the ad-
vancement of humanity under the bless
ings of Christian civilization, and we must
realize that the change which came to
the face of nature and to the conditions
of men was due to the influence of that
child OF bethlehem, who became the
teacher of the truth of God by which
alone man can come into his estate The
history of Christianity is the history in
which mankind finds reason for glory
Christianity began at the manger of Beth
lehem and has become possible through
the Christ-child who was the Saviour IF
the world, was the son of God made man,
that man might be restored to the full
ness of the dignity of the children OF
God.
christmas day is a day of joy, for it
recalls Gods best gift to his children I;
is a day of meditation and prayer; a day
to gather in spirit and travel across the
mountains as did the shepherds led by the
star of Bethlehem, that we may kneal
and adore the newly born Saviour and
recognize in him our Lord and our God.
Christmas day brings us Jesus Christ,
the eternal son of the eternal Father.
who in the fullness of time became man
for our redemption, and was born of the
Virgin Mary, in Bethlehem, the city of
David.
1.-THE angels of God sang his praises
and rejoiced that man was to find in him
the redeemer which 1t needed. They sang
his praises because the heavenly father
was to receive through him the atone
ment which his offended majesty needed
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