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Thursday, December 25, 1958 THE CLINTON CHRONICLE 15 Tor all our friends and neighbors we send this Yuletide wish. May the joy of Christmas meet and mingle with the happiness in your heart. May the spirit of Christmas ever dwell with you. CHARLIE’S GULF CENTER S16 E. CAROLINA AVE. Our wish for you is rhat your holiday m ill be just blooming with happiness. And to you, too, our sincere thanks for your „ l°yJ patronage and friendly good w ill. LB. DILLARD MEN'S AND BOY’S FURNISHINGS ! C^j3est wishes of the season to all our friends. In the spirit of this holiday time, we wish you a heart * full of good cheer, a home full of friends and loved t — ones, and a life filled with happiness. May all the joys of the Yuletide be lastingly yours to brighten and euikib every dsjr. SUNSHINE CLEANERS Shirt Laundry - Shoe Repair 102 W. FLORIDA ST. PJIONE 43« IS rr ENOUGH TO PUT CHRIST BACK INTO CHRISTMAS By E. STANLEY JONES H ^ The movement “to put Christ back into Christmas” was long overdue. The commercialization of Christmas has become nothing less than a scandal. People who care nothing about Christ personally use Him for their own selfish purposes There is a very close kinship to the scene where at the crucifixion the soldiers were throwing dice on His seamless robe to see who would get it — commercialization 'on redemp tion. The commercializing has become so aU-pervading that a woman could say as she looked into a store win dow at Christinas time and saw a replica of a church: “Well, of all things—the church is horning in on Christinas!” It’s time a reaction set in. But if the reaction si real, then we must put not Christ back into Christmas, but Jesus. Is there a distinction here? Yes, and a very real one with very real consequences. A Hindu said to me one day: “We Hindus are all interested in the Uni versal Christ.” “Not in the historic Jesus?” I asked. He slowly shook his head and said: "No, we are interested in the universal Christ.” Why was he interested in the uni. versal Christ and not in the historic Jesus? Because into the universal Christ he could put any content, even a Hindu content, for it is not anchored in history, in fact. But you cannot put any content you de sire into the historical Jesus. By His life and teaching and death and resurrection He has put His own content there. The Christian faith is fuonded up on the Incarnation, the Word be come flesh. It begins with Jesus— the Incarnate. You cannot legit imately say Christ until you have first said Jesus. For Jesus puts character and content into Christ. The Jews put a very definite con tent in the term Christ—a conquer ing hero who would restore the kingdom of Israel. Jesus redeemed Christ by making the term Christ stand for the spirit of Jesus—some, thing quite different. You cannot say God until you have first said Jesus, for Jesus puts character and content into God. Apart from Jesus our ideas of God range from a vague Cosmic Energy (the God of many scientif ically-minded moderns) to a Grand- fatherly Old Gentleman seated in heaven (the God of many, even in our churches). The question of whether there is a God is impor tant, but the question of what kind of God is even more important. For what God ia like, we must be tike We cannot be at cross purposes with God, the Ultimate Reality, and not get hurt. But apart from Jesus we know little or nothing about the character of God. Jesus Is God revealing Himself in terms He is God showing His understand able terms, human character where our character is wrought out, namely in the stream of hu man history. Jesus is that part of God that we have been able to see He is the human life of God. He is God simplified. God understand able, approachable, lovable When I say God I think Jesus And I can think of Him in terms of Jesus. We believe with Canon WUberforce. ‘,in the Jesus.Christness of God.” He is God’s authentic self-revela tion. So Christinas is the celebration of God’s first step in the Incarna tion I say first step, for the Incar nation is not God being born as a baby. It is God’s identification with us—becoming like us that we may become like Him. The birth was the first step in that identification. The Identfiication was progressive: He was bom as a human. He was baptized into the toil of the human. He worked at a carpenter's bench Then He was baptized into the world’s sin when He took a bap tism of repentance alongside of sinners as one of them—He who knew no sin. And then that Identifi cation became complete when at a cross He was crucified between two sinners as one of them. He be came sin for us. He cried the cry of dereliction that you and I have to cry when we sin, "My God, my God, why hast 11100 forsaken me?” The Identification was almost com. plete. But not quite. At the cross He was identified with our sins. But at the tomb He was identified with hite results of our sins—death. But now that He has become identified with us, He opened the possibility of our being identified with Him. He reached bottom with us that we might reach the top with Him by surrender and obedience, then we become identified with His victory. We get under a process of redemption that will end in our being made into His likeness. So putting “Christ into Christ mas” is more than substituting Christ for commercialization. For that might substitute a name for tf name. Two things must become facts if we are to put Christ back into Christmas. We must begin with Jesus—the Incarnate — and make Him first of all Saviour. “Thou shall call Ifis name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins ” The name “Jesus” means “Saviour” and He must become that to us. A Saviour from what? From hell? To Heaven? No, from sin! If he doesn’t save us from sin, He doesn't save us from anything The business of the Christian re demption is not to get us out of hall, but to get hell out of us, net to get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us. And moreover, His * redemption is not to make you healthy and not to bring you happiness—except in cidentally. If you make your health the aim of the Christian rodemp tion, then that makes God serve you; you're the center, not God. And if the end of that redemption is to make you happy, then again God is the servant of your happiness; you are the center. But the end of the Christian redemption is to save you from the central sin—the sin of making yourself God. God be comes central, God becomes God, not you. When that takes place, then health, happiness, effective- nss, success are added as by products. The Kingdom of God is first and then “all these things are added.” You haven't put Christ into Christmas except marginally, un. tit Jesus becomes Saviour. The second thing is to make Jesus Lord. He cannot be Saviour unless we also make Him Lord. To make Him Lord means that He has the final say in our lives. We have moved over and have given Him the wheel. We finally bend the knee at His feet and only His feet. Jesus is Lord! That phrase. “Jesus is Lord, is very important. It was the earliest Christian creed: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord . . . you will be saved.” Again, “No one can say •Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit." (R.S.V.) Here also is the cried: “We don’t know what the simplest and profoundest creed. futur <* holds, but we know Who It is said that all great discov- ho * < *‘* future. They were se , ■ cure with an invincible security— enes are a reduction of complexity . us „ ^ Not wil , ^ to simplicity. The false hypothesisj j s Lord here and now! is always complex for lots of words This Jesus as Saviour and Lord have to be used to cover up the must be put back into Christmas' falsity. But the truth is always , % I simple. Of all the reductions from Then Christmas will be redeemed and we. too\ will be redeemed’ So complexity to simplicity, this is the lh f "^eiuent 10 PU ‘ back greatest: Jesus is Lord! in '° Chnatmas must Rather How did it happen How did a mo mentum and go deeper—it must put Jesus, the Incarnate, back fiercely montheistac people whose |vvhere Cf0d t Him - "Jesus characteristic statement was: is Lord!” If this is done then Christ- Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God mas aix j Christendom will be saved is one Lord'-God was Lord-how j and with jt tho worW did these people come to the con- elusion that Jesus was Lord? How did they believe that this Man who AWARD OF FREEHOLDERS was born in , stable, walked our ^ R ° LINA dusty roads, died upon one of our * trees, was buried in a rock tomb— ^ CONDEMNATION how did they bebeve He was at the ( Cbnton, South Caro ina. place of final authority and would Petitioner, have the last word in human af-! “ vs— , „ fairs? How did they come to that Iyeona " l * son Elmore, Lillie Wilson law. The Federal Land Bank of Columbia; and any and all per sons unknown claiming any right, title or interest in the real prop erty described in the Notice of Condemnation herein; any un known adults being as a class designated as “John Doe"; and any unknown infants or persons under dishility being designated as "Ri< hard Roe,” Respondents. We, the dutly selected freeholders in the above entitled condemnation action, having viewed the real prop erty which is the subject of the ac tion and having considered the value of the real estate and the damages which may accrue to the landown ers, do hereby fix the value of the easements and rights of way fully described in the Notice of Condem nation herein and damages to the landowners (who are parties to this action) to he the total <iwm of Three and 20 100 Dollars. (s) T E ADDISON (s) C. W ANDERSON (Si JOHN L MIMNAUGH (s) J I.ELAND YOUNG (S) GARY .1 LEHN Dated November 21 195g D18-3c startling conclusion Did they find that the touch of Jesus upon life was the touch of God? That He was doing something that only God could do? And were they forced to the conclusion that Jesus is Lord? Yes! They found He was Lord of the Pearl Wilson, Valoris Wilson, and all other heirs at law of Cad Wil son. deceased, and all persons en titled to claim nnder or through Cad Wilson or any of his heirs at FINAL SETTLEMENT Take notice that on the 21st day past, forgiving sins - and releasing i of January, 1959, I will render a men from the bondage and guilt final account of my acts and doings of the yesterdays. They found Him as Administrator of the estate of to be the Lord of the present, re-1 Any person indebted to said es- leasing nv:n from temptation and tate is notified and required to sins and giving them power to face j make payment on or before that up to tragedy and sorrow and make date; and all persone having claims something good out of them. They against said estate wiH present found Him to be the Lord of the them on or before said date, duly future, pulling the sting of death proven, or be forever barred, and making men unafraid of any- L. L. ADAIR, thing that might happen. They! Admniistrator PRATHER-SIMPSON FURNITURE COMPANY “The Homemaker'' Jot CHRISTOS j , l*d ChrtotmM greetings and good wishes, friends and neighbors! It ia our sincere hope that the joyous spirit of this happiest of all holidays will light up your home and your heart with peace and good will May you ever be blessed by the rich rewards Of having friends and loved ones around you. As you observe Christmas with those near and dear to you, may you rejoioe anew at the true meaning and eternal glory of this Holy time. May It bring you inspiration for every day of a more abundant life. Community Cash CLINTON’S FINEST FOOD STORE