King's Business - 1950-12

last Christmas. Before next Christ­ mas, the sands of their hourglass will have run out, the last word will have been spoken, the last pulse-beat will have throbbed, the last breath ex­ haled, and the irresistible summons to the bar of God will have been served by the foreknowledge, will and power of God. How sad if your soul is lost after all. Surely no reason is good enough to lose one’s soul. Remember! One of these Christmases will be your very last. What if it should be this one? The soul can be lost. Herod the king manifested almost eager inter­ est in the Saviour’s birth, but there was hostility in his heart and murder in his mind, so he never came to Christ. A lowly Jesus, a suffering Saviour, God lying in a humble man­ ger, does not draw the proud heart to worship the Son of God. Herod lost his soul. The chief priests and the scribes knew the Scriptures. They knew everything about religion, but they never came to Christ, so they lost their souls. They lived near tb Bethlehem, unlike the wise men who came from afar to find Him. They had every advantage, but they missed their chance through bigotry and blindness of heart. So near to Christ and yet to spend eternity with alLthe lost souls of every age and clime. The Opportunity of Christmas T HIS Christmas may or may not be your last, but it certainly comes to you from Christ with His love as a golden opportunity. Even'if you have lingered with the unbeliev­ ing chief priests; if you have held back deliberately with Herod and his courtiers; yet Jesus will assuredly and graciously receive you and forgive you if you will but come now. If you will allow Him, He will gladly humble Himself afresh, to be born in the rude stable of your sin-stained soul, and joyfully lie within the mean manger of your heart, and trustingly commit Himself to you if you will trustingly commit yourself to Him. Let Him grow within the limits of your human life, and by His sweet presence per­ fume your daily living with the scent of the Rose of Sharon and the fra­ grance of the Lily of the Valley. He shall be your Bright and Morning Star, and your days shall be lightened with the beams that shine from the Sun of righteousness. Said the shepherds “ Let us go . . . even unto Bethlehem . . And they came with haste.” It is not too late for you to come, but you must come now. There is death in delay. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

to restless consciences, balm to wounded and bruised hearts, power to overcome the devil in millions of lives the world over in every age since He came. Christmases have come and gone in your own little, and ever les­ sening, life ; yet you linger in the dark night of uncertainty, unforgiveness and unbelief. You still have not come. He is still outside of your experience. Like the words of Scripture which tell us that there was no room for Him in the inn, you have not made room for Him in your heart, your life, your plans, your thoughts, your am­ bitions, your soul. The Solemnity of Christmas /T -VHE first Christmas brought joy- JL ous tidings. The succeeding cele­ brations of the birth of Jesus Christ carried responsibility, but this Christ­ mas bears a solemnity—for it may be your last. For thousands this is their

the very first time they heard He had come. They came to their Saviour the very first Christmas. Since then, over nineteen hundred Christmases have come and gone, reiterating the glad tidings of a Saviour born. Can it be that you do not, even yet, enjoy the peace the Saviour gives, the power He imparts, the pardon He purchased on His own Cross, with His own blood, drawn from His own veins ? The shepherds knew only of His birth, His arrival, His coming, yet they came to Christ. You are living in a time when it is not only known that He was born, but that He lived a sinless life, wrought wondrous works, spoke imperishable sayings, died a sacrificial, atoning death as the Lamb of God for men’s sins, arose an un­ conquerable victor from the grave. You have the evidence that for nine­ teen centuries Christ has been bring­ ing gladness to sorrowing souls, peace

" . . . but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

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