est commandment was, Jesus re-
plied, "`You must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, all your
soul, and all your mind.' This is the
first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important: `Love
your neighbor as yourself.' The en-
tire law and all the demands of the
prophets are based on these two com-
mandments" (Matthew 22:37�40).
gence by those in a world fortunate
to have so much, we have an op-
portunity to reflect on greater val-
ues and to think of those who can-
not even dream of the many material
things many of us take for granted.
and correctly noted: "No man is an
island, entire of itself; every man is
a piece of the continent, a part of the
main. Any man's death diminishes
me, because I am involved in man-
kind, and therefore never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls
for thee" (Meditation #17 from Devo-
tions Upon Emergent Occasions
ing the plight of more than a quar-
ter of the world's population. We hear
there are about 2.4 billion people liv-
ing on less than $2 per day with an-
other 1.1 billion or so forced to live
on less than $1 a day. If you have
ever tried to live on that amount of
money, you will know what a mon-
umental struggle it is. The reality
is, of course, that a very significant
proportion of the world's popula-
tion have to because, through no
fault of their own, they have lim-
ited choices and opportunities.
God has of touching people around
us with His love, of relating to them
His Word, of enabling them to dis-
cover His saving grace" (taken from
Jesus Now
through you and me. In grasping
that, we will approach the heart of
what this Christmas celebration
is really all about. In realizing this
deeper meaning, we are freed from
focusing on our own wants and lib-
erated to open our hearts to others
who need to experience the beauti-
ful message of Christmas through
a kind and selfless gesture.
of us receive a better education than
our forebears and have far more
wealth and resources than at any
time in human history. Yet the pain,
suffering and deprivation of so many
people continue to grow unchecked.
If parochial and selfish ambitions
continue to be relentlessly pur-
sued, our generation will be remem-
bered not for any significant achieve-
ments but instead for greed. Let us
never forget, therefore, that Christ-
mas is far more than bright lights,
who would bring great joy for all the
world. The reality was, of course, that
when Jesus came, there was no room
in the inn. As a result, the Savior of
the world was born in most hum-
ble surroundings. Could it be that
amidst the bright lights of Christmas
we too can fail to see the true light of
the world--Jesus, the Son of God?
changed the course of human his-
tory, we still see too many people
who, though lacking little materi-
ally, do not realize that there can
be no Christmas without Christ.
God incarnate: "`The people who
sat in darkness have seen a great
light. And for those who lived in the
land where death cast its shadow, a
light has shined.' From then on Je-
sus began to preach, `Repent of your
sins and turn to God, for the king-
dom of heaven is near"' (Matthew
4:16,17). The coming of this kingdom
signalled a radical change in val-
ues and heralded the possibility of
human nature being utterly trans-
formed. In experiencing the dynamic
Kingdom of God we begin to per-
ceive the true light of Christmas.
lips Brooks in the familiar carol. "So
God imparts to human hearts the
blessings of his Heaven. No ear may
hear his coming; but in this world of
sin, where meek souls will receive
him, still the dear Christ enters in."
of The Salvation Army in 2013, directs
the Army's work in 126 countries.