The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-12-24
GODS GREAT LOVE AND
HIS GIFT


GODS GREAT LOVE AND
HIS GIFT
LESSON TExT-Matthew 2:1-12.
GOLDEN TEXT-Tor God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whososver believeth In Him should not
perish. but have everlasting life.-John 3:16
Christmas brings us all back to
the Christ-child in Bethlehem, and
we are reminded anew of our Lords
coming into the world to be the Re-
deemer. For the babe Of Bethle-
hem is the Christ Of the cross, OF
the resurrection, and the coming
King.
"God SO loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son. in what
was the worlds greatest love gift.
But the Word does not stop there.
We must. do something about Gods
gift. We read, ''That whosoever be-
lieveth on Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life" (John 8:
16).
The story Of the coming Of the
Wise Men to seek the One who had
been 'born King Of the Jews" re-
veals several attitudes toward Christ
which find their counterpart in our
day.
I. Expectancy wv. I, o..
These men of another race were
familiar with the Jewish Scriptures
and knew that the Messiah was to
come. Many others, including the
religious leaders Of the Jews, had
the same information. But these
men Of the East differed in that
they looked for His coming with
keen desire and expectancy.
One wonders if we have not be-
come so familiar with the story Of
Christmas that we, like the Jews,
have dead knowledge without ex-
pectant faith. We need to awaken
and look to God for new grace and
strength for these days.
II. Fear wv. 8, 2, 8, 12).
Herod was capable, ruthless, UNI
godly ruler who feared only that
someone would take his power from
him. He was so determined that
this should not happen, that he killed
many members Of his own family
for whom he otherwise had apparent
affection.
When he heard that Jesus, who
was the real King Of the Jews, had
been born, he feared, and laid crafty
plans to destroy Him. God saw to it
that his purpose was not carried out.
There are those Of our time who
fear the coming Of Jesus, because
they will not have Him to rule over
their lives. They love their selfish
ways, and their sinful pleasures;
and when they face the question OF
what they will do with Jesus (and
face it they must!), they have only
fear and hatred in their hearts.
III. Indifference WV. 4-6).
When the Wise Men came to Je-
rusalem to inquire where the Christ
was to be born, they received an
immediate answer--in Bethlehem.
That was clearly foretold in Micah
So. The priests and scribes knew
all about it, but their knowledge did
not move them to action. They told
the Magi where to 60, but they did
not 60 themselves.
How sad it is to see the indiffer-
ence Of our day to the claims Of
Christ. There are many who think
that simply because they do not
hate the church, or the Bible, or do
not fight against it, they are guilt
less. How wrong they are will APP
pear to them if they will read Mat
thew 1923, "a and recall that the
sin of Capernaum was only indif-
ference.
Wake up, careless one, and change
your indifference to love and faith,
lest you too be eternally lost.
Nv. Joy wv. 9, 10).
These earnest seekers for the
Christ-child were full of joy even
before they saw Him. ''When they
saw the STAR" and knew that God
was indeed leading them, their
hearts leaped within them as "they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy"
Christmas is the time when there
should be real joy in our hearts. It
is not enough to be merry" or
HAPPY" In fact, many thousands
could not possibly find anything to
be happy about this year.
Happiness depends on what hap
pens, but joy is the gift Of God 10
His children, which is so deep down
in their beings that circumstances
cannot change it. We may have.
real. satisfying Christmas Joy.
v. Worship ". 11).
When they saw Christ, they wor-
shipped. Have we been as wise as
they were? Then they made gifts,
showing that their worship had
that reality which made them ready
to sacrifice for Him. Have we done
anything this Christmas to show our
joy and gratitude for the redemp-
ton we have in Christ?
The writer Of these lines (Which
win reach you just before Christ