Amazed, I watched Dennis proclaim from the wooden podium, his countenance conveying the burning zeal within his heart. As I beheld all that was happening, floods of joy overwhelmed my soul and somehow, this euphoria found an expression as goose bumps erupting all over my body.
“Merry Christmas to you all. Have you heard about the king in a manger?” As that question bellowed out of Dennis’ mouth, it rang a bell in my brain and like the opening of pages, memories from two years ago flashed through my brain within seconds.
***
“Hi! I will be hosting a Christmas party by 4 p.m. at Hashtag Events Center. I am sure you know the date so I don’t have to bug myself telling you. Be my guest.” Dennis announced to me.
“Thanks but I won’t be there.” I replied.
“What’s wrong with you Rancher? No one turns down my invitation. This is a party most youths in town rush to, even the uninvited pleads with the guards to let them in and that is because I always provide maximum satisfaction weaved into loads of fun. Count yourself lucky to be invited.” Dennis bragged but his words couldn’t convince me.
Dennis and I were course mates in the university; many times I wondered how we were able to cope with his pride. He would seize the slightest opportunity to brag about being the only son of a famous senator and he wouldn’t hesitate to run down who ever tried to exalt himself above him, so, many persons kept their cool around him.
I had seen many proud people but Dennis was king of them all. It seemed he bathed himself in pride and every 25th of December was the day for him to further show off his father’s wealth by hosting a massive party, which I saw as the devil’s trap to divert the hearts of many youths from the true essence of Christmas.
I had heard lots of stories about this party: it was a web where many ladies lost their virginity, youths drank to stupor, worldly music and dance steps were used to celebrate the birth of Christ. I know two ladies from my neighborhood who got pregnant as a result of that party and whenever I remember one of them named Susan, my heart bleeds because she lost her life to the cold hands of death when she attempted abortion.
“Thanks but I don’t celebrate the way you do.” I declared.
“How dare you decline an invitation from the only son of a senator?” he roared and immediately the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart that I needed to preach to him. I had done this several times during our school days but it yielded no positive result. I was determined to grab this opportunity and boom, an idea popped up within my spirit.
“Do you know the famous king who slept in a manger?” I inquired and that grabbed his attention.
“A king in a manger? Why on earth will he do that?” he queried in bafflement.
“His action was a product of his love for his children who had gone astray.” I disclosed. He wanted to know more so I continued.
“The only way to get his children back was to go through a manger so he stripped himself of his honor and went into the manger.”
“Wow! That must be an extraordinary love. I wish my dad loved me that way. Please tell me, who is this king?” he inquired.
“He wasn’t proud, rather he humbled himself. He was born in stable and laid in a manger just to show us true love. His name is Jesus.” I declared and that was the turning point in Dennis’ life as he gave his life to Christ. He cancelled his party and joined me in a campaign to announce the true essence of Christmas. That became our tool to combat the immoral appetite that consumes the hearts of many, leading to reckless behaviors during Christmas.
We embarked on online campaigns and many persons also keyed into our vision. We extended the love Christ showed us to the less privileged, we went on orphanage outreaches, hospital evangelism and bible reading challenges to dig more into the love of Christ for us. In addition to all these, we also organized a prayer network to intercede for souls during Christmas.
It’s been two years now and watching Dennis preach the same message I preached to him gives me joy unspeakable. What a great transformation! He ended his charge with this quote:
IF YOUR CELEBRATION DOESN’T DEPICT CHRIST, THEN IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS. That quote has been the burning passion conveying souls to Christ
That is the simple truth. Some people celebrate Christmas forgetting who they are actually celebrating