Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

A pastor by the name of Jeff Strite tells about a man named Robert McGimsey who, on Christmas Eve 1932, attended a midnight church service in New York City. Feeling much inspired, he then headed back to his one room apartment. As he walked the final blocks, he passed the doors of private clubs where people were shouting and swearing and singing and others were so drunk they had passed out on the sidewalk.

He thought to himself, “What a strange way to celebrate the birth of the most perfect person whoever ever lived on this earth!” Then he thought to himself, “We seemed to have missed the whole significance of Christ’s life. That night. McGimsey wrote some thoughts on the back of an envelope. Those words became the basis of a beautiful Christmas song that goes like this:

Sweet little Jesus boy, they made you be born in a manger. Sweet little holy child, we didn’t know who you were. Didn’t know you’d come to save us, Lord, to take our sins away. Our eyes were blind, we couldn’t see. We didn’t know who you were.

Sometimes that’s true. Many who celebrate Christ’s birth, have no real understanding of who He was, or is. Sadly, there are people today who have no idea how Jesus changed the world when He was born in that stable.

During this season, there are many things that people focus on and not on the real reason for the season. My prayer is that during this Advent season, more people will learn more about the true meaning of the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas!