Children lead the way in this beautiful poem “True Christmas Joy” by Tennett Morrell.
‘Twas the day before Christmas, a long time ago / And our beautiful earth was all covered with snow; Down the street with their sleighs came two manly boys, / Who paused at the window to look at the toys.
Already two others were there looking in; / But their faces were sad, and their clothes old and thin. And the little one said, “Is it because we’re so poor / That Santa doesn’t come to our house anymore?”
The older one patted his wee brother’s head, / And hugged him up closely, as softly he said: “Oh, maybe he will come tonight, little Tim, / If we ask in our prayers for the Lord to send him!”
The little face smiled, but the boys saw a tear / In the eye of the one who quelled little Tim’s fear. Then slowly and sadly the waifs went their way / To the place they called home, where that night they would pray.
The boys, with their sleighs, followed closely behind, / And neither one spoke, but in each childish mind A beautiful thought said as plain as could be: / “I’ll share with those poor boys what Santa brings me.”
When the two reached their home, to their father they ran, / And eagerly told him their unselfish plan. He was proud of his boys, who now felt that same love / That sent our dear Savior from His Home above.
Next morning, still thrilled with their beautiful thought, / They scampered downstairs to see what Santa brought, And they, with the help of their father and mother, / Selected the presents for Tim and his brother.
And as the first light of dawn came into view / The two went their way with the toys bright and new, And crept very quietly up to the door / Where they’d seen the boys enter the evening before.
As they hurried back home toward their own Christmas joys, / They could not even dream how the other two boys, On finding that Santa had really been there, / Sent their joy to the One who had answered their prayer.
That night, when the “Santas” were ready for bed, / With a hand of their father on each curly head, They knew, as they thought of two poor, happy boys, / What’s the truest and choicest of all Christmas joys.
“Joy to the world; the Lord is come!” Joy is certainly an integral part of the Christmas story. The Gospel writer Luke overflows with joy as he narrates the joyous events that lead up to Christ’s birth.
Joy is also an essential ingredient for Life. Sadly, there is often little joy in December or the rest of the year. You can look for it in many places, but you will not find it. Thankfully, as the great preacher and author R. A. Torrey reminds us, “There is more joy in Jesus in 24 hours than there is in the world in 365 days. I have tried them both.” Glory!
This Sunday, December 19, we will continue our Christmas series, “The Songs of Christmas”, with the Angels' glorious song of Joy, the “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” (Luke 2:1-20). The service will begin with the Children and Youth leading us in a special time of Christmas worship. Be sure to be on time to not miss a moment! (Please bring your keiki to the 9:30am Bible class for their final rehearsal. We want every child to participate.) Everyone, please join us at 10:35am in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). A link will be posted later that day to our website (honoluluag.org).
Coming Up: January 2nd is Un-Deck the Halls Sunday. We will put away all the Christmas decorations and then enjoy a delicious prepared lunch together. (The lunch is free; you do not need to bring anything that day.) The “Joy of Belonging” classes will take place in January. If you are interested in becoming a member here at Honolulu AG, please let me know. I’d love to have you be part of this valuable teaching series.
Aloha and Aloha ke Akua!