Good evening Dave! Dave Laird wrote to everyone...
> However, in looking around me at friends, family and acquaintances, I am > seeing that I am not alone, for others are realizing pretty much the same > impacts on their lives as I am feeling. Who has time for the mystery of > Christmas, or the time to explore its subtle meanings for us all? Who has > time to stand for hours in front of K-Mart interviewing people who have > just punched out their credit cards to buy expensive gifts for people they > don't even like? In short, people have less time than ever for the true > meaning of Christmas, but try to make up for their losses with artificial > sentiments, largesse and high-volume spending. That is a poor set of > substitutions, in my mind, but one that nearly everyone acknowledges as > being economic "progress". You've just mentioned a lot of stuff here, in just one paragraph, some of which, if you consider it, really may be the spirit of Christmas after all. Although you indicated that *most* people may not consider it as such, when people stand in line at K-Mart to purchase gifts for people they don't really like, I believe in a circumspect sort of way at least, maybe that really *IS* Christmas! Consider the Christ Child entering the world in a stable as a gift to the human race, a gift in this case, that most have and do flatly reject. The story of the Christ Child entering the misery of humanity, and born in a stable no less, in a world where humanity could care less because of other 'more important' priorities, *IS* the story of Christmas. Of course, the real story of Christmas does not stop there either. The story continues all the way through the New Testament period, to the death of the Christ for the humanity he entered the world in a stable to save, to his death and resurrection for this lot of humanity -- this is the real story of Christmas. So, maybe the story in the paragraph you told of individuals standing in long lines at K-Mart to purchase something for someone they don't even like, may have a lot more to do with Christmas than you might think! Kindest regards, Frank _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
