One of my blogging friends, Martha Jane Orlando, blogs at Meditations of my Heart.  She recently wrote and posted a simple but profound poem. You can find her blog and the poem here. To save you some time on the poem, here it is: “Holy candles/Lit in hope/Peace and joy/Laced in love/Everlasting/Flames ablaze/Light profound/Darkness flees/When God surrounds/The Soul and self. Amen”

That simple poem carries the essence of the Christmas story. Or maybe I should the essence of what we are looking for in the Christmas story or Christmas season. We all long for hope. We all long for peace. We all long for joy. We all long for love. If what I write is not true, check out the many Christmas songs we sing. How many of them talk about one of those 4 longings?

The story of Christmas, and yes, even the season of Christmas for those not even interested in the deeper story, draws people to those 4 longings in some way.  Sadly, there will be many who will seek the answer to those longings in the temporary-a relationship, a drink, a sentiment, a party with friends, even ringing a bell. But in the long run those 4 longings won’t be answered in or with the temporary. No, as Martha says, “Light profound/Darkness flees/When God surrounds/the Soul and self.” Profound and everlasting change will come only when the Eternal Father (God) surrounds us with His presence. When the baby in the manger, God made flesh, becomes more than a prop in a play. When the angels are more than dressed-up kids in white sheets and the wise men are more than kids in bathrobes. 🙂 Only when the truth of the Christmas story becomes more than a cute sentiment will those 4 longings become a permanent part of our lives.

Thank you, Martha, for the simple, yet insightful poem. Thank you, God, for the answer to the longings of each and every heart: love, joy, peace and hope…Jesus Christ, the baby born in the manger. The King who became a baby, who became a sacrifice, who is now a King again…AND WILL COME AGAIN AS KING.