through the branches. Then, Chris tian missionaries brought the people the true message of our redemption. They learned that they should wor ship the Creator and not creation. So the trees were set afire and the cus tom became an annual observance in the burning of the yule log, remind ing us that we must so destroy the gods in our lives — the gods of ma terialism and pride, of anger, lust, and jealousy that the true God may be crowned in our hearts as King of kings and Lord of lords. A NEW COPYWRITER for a well known soap company started work ing the first of the year and he de cided he would set the proverbial “woods afire” with his new ideas so here is what he penned: “The alkaline elements and vegetable fats in this soap are so perfectly blended as to secure the highest quality of saponification, y e t with a specific gravity which prevents it from sub merging, so the bather need not be annoyed by groping about the bath tub to retrieve the elusive bar.” Well, the older and wiser advertis ing manager took one look at the effort and crossed it out, writing in the two simple words . . . “IT FLOATS.” Whether this story is true or not, it, at least, illustrates a must for the Christian who is giving the message of salvation to one who is lost; he must tell the message of truth in sweet simplicity and not in high sounding phrases for the Son of God came to seek and to save that which was lost. That message of redemp tion is stated in words of one sylla ble. 6
THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON FINDS US interested, more than ever, in man getting into outer space and on the moon. The effort has caused the word “trillion” to become a word very common to our vocabulary. It is going to take a great many dol lars of our taxes to make any inter planetary travel a reality. We boast of our gross national product as be ing about one half trillion dollars, and experts tell us that if this num ber of one dollar bills were stacked in a pile it would reach about 40,000 miles high or 1 /6 of the distance to the moon. That is pretty high and yet no amount of money can possi bly take man into the presence of God. His sphere is higher and great er than the moon. Giving to the poor, or our own righteousness can not take us into His presence; only that which Christ has already done saves us and makes us fit for His presence. A man-made rocket to outer space — perhaps! But a man made salvation into the presence of God is impossible. Christ says, “/ 'can the way, the truth and the life, 'no man comeih unto the Father but by me.” ONE VERY PICTURESQUE CUSTOM of this season is the lighting of what is known as the yule log. This gives us a picture of what the power of Christ can mean in human lives. Years ago, large and unusual trees were frequently worshipped as symbols of the mystery of life or as manifestations of the gods. Many legends grew around these trees. Terror stricken worshippers huddled together to listen for weird voices of their gods — actually, it was only the wind with the sound of moaning
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