A Christmas Hope for Hurting Youth

A Christmas Hope for Hurting Youth

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6 NIV ©)

This prophecy was fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist (Luke 1:17), who prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry.

I serve as Chaplain for the Seal Beach (California) Police Department. Our department has been deeply affected by two suicides in recent days—a teenage boy and a young man. Since learning of these, I’ve been thinking long and hard about the factors today that contribute to this phenomenon, which barely existed when I was in high school and college.

There are many factors to consider and it would be wrong to reduce our thoughts to but one. Still, I’m convinced that the common breakdown in father/son relationships is a key factor. The good news is, the Father sent his Son into the world so that fathers and sons might draw closer!

May God use this Christmas message through my life and yours to offer genuine hope to torn relationships with the message of Jesus! Suicide is a wrong and permanent answer to temporary problems, for which there are true answers in Jesus.

Donald P. Shoemaker

"Merry Christmas" or "Bah! Humbug!"?

A family in Nova, Michigan was threatened with fines when they placed a nativity scene in their front yard. A letter from the Thomas More Law Center led the property management firm to back down.

The Jackson County (Georgia) School District forbade a wide variety of religious expressions--teachers wearing pins, angels or clothing with religious connotations or some songs with religious content in a "Winter" concert. An attorney for the Alliance Defense fund says, "Many school districts aren't trying to be difficult; they simply don't know the facts about the law." (Source: Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse writing in "Toothsource," a free e-mail with informed opinion on current cultural issues)

I for one am responding to "Happy Holidays" with the words, "And the 'holiday' is Christmas, when we remember Jesus' birth." Please read on:

"Holiday" is defined by the Random House dictionary as "a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person."

So, "holiday" is a generic word covering all such commemorations. When we want to get specific we ask what event or person is remembered on a particular holiday such as Independence Day or Presidents' Day. Or
Christmas.

We would never call a parade on Labor Day, Veterans' Day or Martin Luther King's birthday a "Holiday Parade." This generic designation would degrade the special day and insult those who observe it. And so it is with calling a Christmas event a "holiday" event or Christmas Day "the holiday."

Christmas Day at its heart commemorates the birth of Jesus-nothing else, nothing less. Since the 4th century most of Christianity has observed December 25 this way. We should either regard it as such or eliminate it as a holiday. Business and government could then operate as usual on December 25; Christians who wish to observe Christmas could take a personal vacation day.

But neither will happen, for our culture wants to bask in the benefits of this day even while pretending it has no heart. I for one will celebrate Jesus' birth and extend a prayer for peace and good will to all, be they Christian or not. Merry Christmas!