May It Be Said That We Knew How to Keep Christmas Well!!!

December 31, 2024

We cannot finish this series of blogs on Dickens’s A Christmas Carol without looking at the immense change and transformation that took place in Ebenezer Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge is shown what he might have had by the Ghost of Christmas Past. He is shown the Spirit of Christmas shining even in the poorest of conditions, including Cratchit’s meager home, by the Ghost of Christmas Present. He is shown his own death and the failure of his life to make any difference by the Ghost of Christmas Future.

After experiencing all the three ghosts showed him, Scrooge falls down before the third ghost and cries, "Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life? I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year." And at that moment Scrooge finds himself back in his bedroom.

“I don’t know what to do!” cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoon of himself with his stockings. “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel. I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world. Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!”

Scrooge's transformation is beautiful and amazing as his frozen heart melts and he acts with generosity, gives to the poor, cares for Bob Crachitt and his family, embraces his nephew, and genuinely cares for his neighbors.

Dickens ends A Christmas Carol...

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more, and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world...and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One! He knew how to keep Christmas well.

As we enter this New Year, we pray that the same might be said of us. May it be said of us, “He [She] knew how to keep Christmas well.”

What must you and I do so the same may be said of us?

First, we must choose to Love. Love is the foundational piece to "keeping Christmas well." If such words are to be said about you and I, we must first love sacrificially. Maybe you can look back at a time in your life where you felt a lot closer to God, where you felt a lot more passionate for your spouse, where you felt a greater capacity to love the stranger, or where you felt closer to your friends and family.

We must remember that love is not a feeling. Love is a choice. Love is an action. To keep Christmas well throughout the year, we must choose to do the things that will rekindle our love for God and for others. Choose to read the Bible, choose to pray, choose to worship, choose to serve, choose to make the phone call, choose to write that letter, choose to forgive, choose to visit, choose to help, choose to love. When we choose to act with love, passion comes back into our friendships, our marriage, and our relationship with God.

"...and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

Secondly, we must choose to have Integrity. Many of us think of our lives like a pie. There are all these different slices in the pie. There is a slice representing our career, one representing our marriage, a slice representing our family, perhaps slices representing our hobbies, politics, finances, health, and education, and then there is a God slice. But God says I don’t want to be just one little slice. God demands first place in our lives or no place at all. Jesus taught, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). ALL. God wants to be at the center of every slice, every area, every decision, every battle, every relationship, every choice, every day. We must live with integrity, making sure God is integrated into every area of our lives.

"...and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man

alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

Thirdly, we must choose to Forgive. Ephesians 4:32 states, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." When we carry around resentment and bitterness it takes our focus off what is important. It destroys relationships. It eats away at the legacy we want to leave. Jesus is our example. On the cross, he prayed, "Father, forgive them for they don’t realize what they are doing." Only when we let go of our bitterness and forgive can we see the face of Christ and can others see Christ in us.

"...and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man

alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

Lastly, we must have Enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that nothing great ever happens without enthusiasm in life. Enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, en and theos. Theos is the Greek word for God. En simply means in. Enthusiasm literally means God within. If you have no motivation, no passion, no enthusiasm, you may have to ask yourself, “Do you have God within?”

When we start hanging out with God, when we start getting excited about the things God cares about, when we start caring about the things God cares about, when we start spending time with a God who is extremely passionate, we will become excited, caring, and passionate.

Ebenezer Scrooge, thanks to God's mercy and three dynamic ghosts, got a second chance and left quite a legacy. Dickens writes, "and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

One day we will stand before God and we will see what kind of legacy we left, what is said of us.

• What kind of legacy will we leave when it comes to our families? When our children & grandchildren think of us, what will come to their minds? What will they take from us and be able to give to others?

• What kind of legacy will we leave when it comes to our marriages? Will others be inspired by our marriages? Will our marriages push others to work on theirs, to

love their spouse and God more deeply?

• What kind of legacy will we leave when it comes to our work? Will we be remembered for being generous to our employees? Will we have influenced others around us positively? Will we be remembered for reflecting Christ in our day-to-day encounters?

• What kind of legacy will we leave when it comes to our church? Will we be

remembered for helping the ministry move forward or for holding it back? Will we be remembered as someone who loved those brothers and sisters God placed in our lives as part of our church family?

• What kind of legacy will we leave? What will people have seen in us? How will our words and actions have lifted others up and pointed them to God?

May we live a life of Love, Integrity, Forgiveness, and Enthusiasm. May we live in such a way because God first loved us, showing us His love by sending His Son that first Christmas morning.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great

joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born

to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

-Luke 2:10-11

"...and it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

I pray the same may be said of you and I.