Charles
Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol was released on December 19,
1843, and has never been out of print. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge,
a wealthy, sour, stingy man who says, “Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry
Christmas,’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding!” Yet, one
Christmas Eve, Scrooge is radically changed into a generous and happy man. With
great humor and insight, Dickens’ book captures the universal longing for inner
peace.
As a
young man, the apostle Paul opposed Jesus and His followers with a vengeful
spirit. He “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off
men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). But one day he encountered
the risen Christ, and his life became a different story (9:1-16).
In a
letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul described that life-changing
event by saying, even though he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an
insolent man . . . the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith
and love which are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:13-14).
Jesus was born into our world and gave His life so that we can be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him. This is the heart of Christmas!
