The cost of something is measured by your need of it.”
              –Louis L’Amour (Reilly’s Luck)

    “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
              –Luke 19:10 (NLT)
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I believe that the ones who tend to be downhearted at Christmas are those in the military who are deployed at Christmas.  Duty often takes a toll on a person and it is true during Christmas time.  “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” was one of those songs written for the soldier during World War II, whether he was sitting in a foxhole in the jungles of the Philippines or some island they couldn’t pronounce the name of, or in the cold, marching through France.  Military personnel will be thinking of Christmas, “if only in their dreams.”
    I came across an entry made in a diary written in 1861, by Robert Shaw, commander of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry.  It shows the down-hearted mood of the soldiers.

         “It is Christmas morning and I hope a happy and merry one for you all, though it looks so stormy for our poor country, one can hardly be in merry humor.”
              (taken from Terry Tuley, Stories of Faith)

Here was a man who was letting outward circumstances and the war put him down in the dumps.  However, because of Christmas, no matter where we are, shouldn’t our hearts be merry?  Remember, that “merry” didn’t mean super happy, it meant strength of character, strength of body.
    Showing the difference in people, another article was posted in “The Harper’s Weekly”.  This was written by a soldier in 1863.

         “Ought not it to be a Merry Christmas?  Even with all the sorrow that hangs, and will forever hang, over so many households while war still rages; even while there are serious questions yet to be settled–ought not it to be, and is it not, a merry Christmas?”
             (Terry Tuley, Stories of Faith)

    Because of the birth of Jesus, every day, no matter the situation or circumstance, we can be merry.  The Father sent His Son to earth to redeem mankind.  What a thought!  What a gift!  What a cause of rejoicing and merriment!
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              “It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
                        –Charles Dickens

    I have heard it said that Christmas is for the kids.  Possibly true to a point, but since we are all God’s children, isn’t Christmas for everyone?  As was written at the top, “the cost of something is measured by your need of it,” so all of us, no exceptions anywhere were/are in need of a Savior.  He gave His only begotten Son, as a gift.  This gift would cost the Father the death of His Son, but it would pay the supreme price for our sins.
    Another thought, that I really don’t think we ponder much.  Jesus came to earth as a baby.  He grew into that toddler stage, and into the primary ages and adolescence.  Just like children, He had to grow. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52, NKJV)
    Scripture says that Jesus had brothers (James, Jude, Simeon, Joseph) and sisters.  Imagine having Jesus as a sibling.  Not only was He an older brother, but He was God.  No wonder they had problems believing until after the crucifixion and resurrection.

No matter how desperate a situation might be, he could always find in it something at which to laugh.  He laughed going into danger and coming out of it, with a joke or a pleasantry always trembling on the end of his tongue.”
              –Clarence E. Mulford  (Bar-20 Days)

    “For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God?”
              –1 Thessalonians 3:9 (NKJV)
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It was custom for my Dad to always give Grandma one of those red plants for Christmas.  You know the one–the poinsettia.  I have tried to follow in his custom with my wife.  This year the poinsettias seem to be vibrant red.  (I do not particularly care for some of the other colors they have out now.)
    Looking through my files, I found the story of the poinsettia and how it came to be a Christmas favorite and custom.

                    The Lovely Legend of the Very First Poinsettia

           Have you ever seen a poinsettia?  It’s a beautiful, red flower with a yellow center, that people like to decorate with at Christmastime.
           There is a lovely legend about how the poinsettia came to be and it begins in Mexico…
           There was a young boy who was very sad one Christmas Eve.  You see, in his little town it was the custom to offer gifts to the Christ Child.  People would come to the church on Christmas Eve and place their gifts upon the altar.
           But Manuelito, as we shall call him, was very poor.  He had no gift to bring before the Infant Jesus.
           Too shy to go inside the church without a gift, he knelt outside a window and began to pray.  We don’t know what Manuelito said, but perhaps he was telling the Holy Infant how sorry he was that he did not have a gift to offer.  For that is what prayer is, you know; talking to God.
           As he rose to his feet, he noticed a beautiful red flower growing in the very spot where he had knelt.  Amazed, he bent down to examine the flower.  He had never seen one like it before.
           Suddenly he realized that this lovely flower was a gift from heaven, an answer to his prayer!
           Joyfully, Manuelito plucked the flower and carried it inside, to lay before the altar.
           And that is why the poinsettia is known as “The Flower of the Holy Night” in Mexico.

The author and source of this is unknown, but here we see a humble boy wanting to give a gift to the Infant.  It is a story that has been repeated in other forms, “The Little Drummer Boy,” “In the Bleak Winter,” are examples where there is nothing to give except to play on a drum, or to give one’s heart.
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                “Christmas is a necessity.  There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.”
                       –Eric Sevareid

There is so much bickering going on; so much hatred.  Hopefully, except for the few which are to be pitied, Christmas will be a day that all of that will be forgotten as families gather around the tree.  There will be laughter, presents, maybe even the Bible will be read.  The political turmoil and hatred will be put aside for one day.
    To those who say, “Bah, Humbug”; to those who snort at Christmas and the thought that God could love the world, including them so much to send His only begotten Son to redeem it, well, they are truly to be pitied.  Some may get involved with some sort of revelry, but some will stay at home, a victim of their hearts and minds. They will try and enjoy the coldness of their heart as Dicken’s Scrooge of old did.  Maybe a “Spirit” will visit them, but too sadly many of them will not come to know the love of the Father.  To be pitied, to be pitied.

There’s no limit to what a man can do once he makes up his mind he ain’t allergic to sweat.”
              –Elmer Kelton (The Man Who Rode Midnight)

    “He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.”
              –Proverbs 18:9 (NKJV)
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Here’s another old carol, written in the 13th century, that we seldom hear any more.  I haven’t heard it outside my own CDs in many, many years.  It begins with the story of a man who met the three kings (wise men) on their way to see the newborn Christ-child.  In this song they are seen as “valiant warriors” rather than just “wise men.” 

                    Three great kings I met at early morn
                    With all their retinue were slowly marching
                    Three great kings I met at early morn
                    Were on their way to meet the newly born
                    With gifts of gold brought from far away
                    And valiant warriors to guard the royal treasure
                    With gifts of gold brought from far away
                    Their shields all shining in their bright array

As the song continues, we should be thankful for the mercy and grace that God has bestowed upon us through the year.  We have made it through another year due to His amazing grace.  Here, in the second verse, the child is now the Redeemer and Father who has turned the dark future that once was mankind’s into light.  As the kings marched to find the child following the star, we should now march to face the foes as the Savior arms us for the fight.

                    For Thy mercy and Thy grace
                    Constant through another year
                    Hear our song of thankfulness
                    Father and Redeemer hear
                    Dark the future; let Thy light
                    Guide us, bright and morning star
                    Fierce our foes and hard the fight
                    Arm us Savior for the war

The third verse finds man in the reality of life.  We are weak and often in distress as we trod through this life.  We should be like the kings as they marched on to find the king.  As they went through the wilderness in their search, so we should take heart, and go through the wilderness in which we find ourselves.  He will help keep us faithful and pure.  In this life we will have to endure many hardships.  The only way in which we can get through them is by following the true Light.

                    In our weakness and distress
                    Rock of strength be Thou our stay
                    In the pathless wilderness
                    Be our true and living way
                    Keep us faithful; keep us pure
                    Keep us evermore Thine own
                    Help, O help us to endure
                    Fit us for the promised crown.

This is what I call a “power” song.  It is majestic and gives the sense of awe and wonder as the kings march to find the Child bringing Him gifts.  Take time to seek it out this season it will be worth your while to listen to the “March of the Kings.”