His Only Son

One last reminder to those of you who wander into the sphere of my influence: The root word of Christmas is "Christ." It’s so easy to get caught up in the all the hoopla of our traditional secular Christmas celebration, but please pause to remember what this day is really all about. At the heart of all the trappings, this is our day to thank God for sending His only son to a sinful world for the purpose of offering salvation to all mankind. So please celebrate the Christ child who was born on the first Christmas day. Take that wonderful story to heart and share it with others. Tell it to your children and grandchildren, your nephews and nieces ... and write it upon your own heart. Today’s poem comes from late one Christmas Eve when I myself had entirely lost track of what Christmas was supposed to be about. I hope you may discover something in it for yourself and your own family. "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

His Only Son
It was Christmas eve around midnight
the presents were under the tree
The stockings were stuffed, but somehow
it just didn't feel like Christmas to me
We had read the Christmas story together
before the kids went to bed
But all night I had felt kind of empty
somewhere in my heart or my head
The magic of Christmas was missing
it had faded for me through the years
As tradition became repetition
until I no longer held Christmas dear
Instead it seemed more of a bother
and an expensive bother at that
Nothing more than an inconvenience
more mess, more bills, more fat
It was late, far too late, I imagined
and the end of a very long day
But I figured I better look in on the kids
before I hit the hay
In my son's room I had a strange feeling
as if something was left out of place
Then I noticed the moon light streaming
in and how it lit up his young face
I thought to myself, "sure, it's Christmas
there must be sugar plums dancing in there"
I gave him a kiss as I reached down
to brush back a wisp of his hair
Then I knew, in an instant, I saw it
what really happened on Christmas day
As my heart raced back to another child
long ago and far away
To a boy who was sleeping, as mine did
on that very first Christmas night
I saw his peaceful face awash
in the very same moonlight
Then I realized, finally, what God did
and the depth of that terrible price
God paid when He offered His only Son
for us all as a sacrifice
Of course, now I saw it so clearly
in the light of my love for my son
My own flesh and blood, whom I
certainly never would give up for anyone
But that's just what God did with Jesus
he sent Him to suffer and die
God sent Him because of His love for me
as I saw it I started to cry
And me, I was tired of Christmas
but I just didn't know what it meant
I had gotten too busy to notice the Savior
I knew that God had sent
I was filled with the joy and wonder
which eluded me all of these years
Now it was there, I could feel it
as it came flooding in through the tears
There, alone on my knees, in the darkness
I finally understood
That on Christmas God gave the greatest gift
of love that anyone could
By Frank Carpenter ©