Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-12-24
CHRIST'S CHRISTMAS GIFT AND
THE CHRISTMAS GIFT HE DESIRES

OF all born of woman Jesus was the
only man who ever chose to be born.
His birth was a voluntary coming into
our world. and in the celebration of
Christmas we rejoice in the fact of that
coming.
But If our rejoicing at this blessed
season is to be consonant with the
event which we celebrate, we must re-
call the purpose of His coming and
sympathize with the heavenly motive
which impelled Him to become the In
carnate One. Fortunately He has left
us an explicit statement concerning the
object OF His assumption of human ma
ture; He said ''The Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which
was lost. duke xix :10). This he
said to justify Himself against the cen
sure of some who looked with evil eyes
upon his tender treatment of an ostra-
cized publican. In like manner he ut
tered the parallels Of the lost sheep,
the lost coin and the prodigal son to
vindicate Himself against the murmur-
ings of Pharisees and scribes who said
of Him, This man receiveth sinners
and eateth with them. (LuKe XIV: 1872.
Those beautiful and touching parallels
tender aim of the incarnation. They
show us that God has joy in the sal
walton of the lost There is joy in the
presence Of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth" is the sweet re-
frain which runs through all of them.
The coming and the teachings of
Jesus show us that the great God is
interested in the welfare Of mankind,
and that His supreme interest is in the
moral fortunes of our lost race. The
only event on earth which the Scrip
lures assure US stirs joy in heaven is
the penitence of a sinner. Great bat
ties may move heavens grief, and the
blaring of trumpets of victors on
bloody fields may send their piercing
voices skyward to meet descending la
mentations OF angels over a scene so
hard and hateful But certainly such
conflicts arouse no joy on high. The
political triumphs of men are small
events in heavens esteem when COM
pared with the return of one prodigal
child of God from his waywardness.
The great commercial movements of the
earth do not move to gladness the
heart Of God. but the turning TO Him
of one forIorn sinner fills Him with
divine joy no matter how obscure and
degraded such an one may be. Moth
ing IN our world or sin mas such sig
nificance to God as a man, and no
event in a mans life is by our heavenly
Father accounted so important as his
conversion. In nothing is God so in
terested as in human redemption, and
this fact is asserted and demonstrated
by the incarnation in the most divine
manner. God so loved the world that
He gave His only-begotten Son that
whosoever believeth. in Him should not
perish. but have everlasting life. On
nothing else has heaven bestowed so
priceless a gift as upon the rescuing
OF the perishing children OF men,
These things being true the Christmas
season is a time for us to re-adjust our
false appraisement of men as compared
with mere things. The coming of Christ
declared the supreme value of man as
man. At this point christianity comes
into the sharpest conflict with the mer-
camille. spirit and the materialistic ten
denotes of our age, all of which are
disposed TO treat man as small account
Men absorbed in getting money care lit
tie for the higher interests of their fell
low men; and there are found not few
who are ready 10 enrich themselves by
capitalizing the moral weakness Of hui
man beings and reaping revenue from
the dissipation OF drunkards, the de-