“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”–Matthew 1:20–21
The dawn of Christmas 1863 found Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gripped by sadness. His beloved wife Fanny had perished in a tragic fire in 1861. His oldest son Charles—who had joined the Union Army against Longfellow’s wishes—had been critically injured the month before while fighting in Virginia. As he heard the church bells ringing and pondered all he had lost even as others were rejoicing, Longfellow’s grief poured forth in a poem. But as he continued to listen to the bells—and reflect on the truths of Scripture, Longfellow’s mood began to change. He ended his poem, which we know as the carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” with these words:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
The birth of Jesus that we celebrate on Christmas Day, and the purpose and meaning of His life is the greatest source of hope that our troubled world will ever know. Jesus did not come merely to be an example or a teacher or a prophet. He came to be our Saviour. The greatest need of our sinful hearts can only be met by the sinless Son of God, born of a virgin and come into the world for the express purpose of bringing salvation. Jesus Himself said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).–by Dr. Paul Chappell
