Did you know that God has a Christmas tree and it is on display year round? This is a very different kind of tree. First of all, it’s huge―big enough for all the world to see. And its fragrance? Well, it’s unmistakable, like fresh cut pine, though its trunk has never been severed. It is truly evergreen because it is alive. Its roots go deep and seem to spread the world over. The lights which adorn it are glistening drops of a perpetual rainbow and those lights never go out.
The ornaments which are hung upon the tree are fashioned in the image of each child, each person who has come to receive a gift from the True Father Christmas, which is God Himself. You see, the Bible says that “every good and perfect gift comes from above.” God is the Giver of all givers.
At the top of the tree, like so many others, is an angel. But unlike all others, this one does not sit there motionless. This one hovers with the wings of the Spirit because it too is alive. It is the “Angel of the Lord,” draped in white, which is the righteousness of Christ. So bright is its light, it is like the star of Bethlehem up close, as it radiates with the brightness of a thousand suns.
Spread around the base of this tree is no ordinary tree skirt. There, in the plushest of velvets, and the richest purple grape you ever saw, is the robe of royalty that Jesus laid down for us. The fullness of its train lies in folds draped generously around all its sides.
And then, there are the gifts which lay on the robe and in-between its folds beneath the tree. All the presents are wrapped in the most beautiful, but curious, of fashions. The design of each wrapping is unique, and of every color, but each one has hearts all over it. When I asked an angel standing nearby why this was so, the radiant being replied that “every gift is wrapped in God’s love and comes straight from the Creator’s heart.” There are ribbons the color of precious gemstones, like emerald, ruby, amethyst, and sapphire, or the color of precious metals like gold and silver. The ribbons curl and flow amidst strings of pearls, creating the most lavish of bows.
Come with me, as I look more closely. I see tags with writing on them. One reads “love,” another “joy,” and, another, “peace.” As I walk further around the tree, I see tags which read “patience” and “gentleness,” or “kindness,” then “generosity.” I step deeper under the tree’s boughs, stoop over, and lift tags which read “faithfulness” and “self-control.” I turn to the angel yet again and say, “I’ve never seen gifts that tell you what they are before you open them. Who gets these gifts?” “Anyone who asks,” is the reply. “But how can that be? There are so many people.” “Oh, my child, that is no problem. There is not just one of each. Look around.” So, I do. To my amazement, as I begin counting, sure enough, within minutes, I find several of each. “How many are there? I ask the angel. With outspread arms, twinkling eyes, and flashing smile, this dazzling one responds, “The supply is inexhaustible.” Then, silence for some time―as if an invitation to drink in all the wonder which lay before me.
After several minutes, the heavenly being speaks again, but this time initiating our exchange. “There are things that you have missed,” said the angel. “What do you mean?” I questioned. “You have only looked at the presents in plain view, but there are stacks of presents here. You have not looked to see what’s underneath or inside the piles.” My curiosity piqued, I continue to explore, moving a present here and a present there to uncover what lay beneath. Picking up several, one after the other, I search for their tags but can find none. “Why are there no tags on these?” I ask the angel. Delighted that I had uttered the question this glorious messenger was waiting to hear, the angel said with an air of great mystery, “Those? Those are surprises. Within some are the desires of your heart. Yet others hold things beyond your wildest dreams.” My excitement rises, trying to fathom gifts beyond the scope of my imagination. Then, suddenly, my face grows somber. Quick to respond, the angel asks me, “What’s wrong?” Almost afraid to ask, I question, “What if I open the wrong gift? There are so many people and the gifts don’t tell me who is to open which one.” Sensing my anxiety, the radiant one steps next to me. Then, while raising golden wing, the angel draws me close and says, “These gifts are not like the ones that you’ve received before, or have seen others receive. The moment you pick one, or one is selected for you, what lies inside shapes itself to fit the uniqueness of who you are. There is no way to make a mistake.”
Greatly relieved, I look up at the heavenly presence and smile. Then wondering aloud I ask, “How long has this tree been here?” The angel’s answer stuns me, “It’s ancient. It has been here forever.” In disbelief I protest, “You’re exaggerating. Trees don’t live forever.” Unruffled, the angel simply says, “If you don’t believe me, ask the tree.” “Ask the tree? Now you’re really being ridiculous. Trees don’t talk.” “Oh, there is none like this tree. But, suit yourself. If you do not believe, you will not ask, and you will hear what you expect.” This mysterious messenger speaks no further. Bothered by what had been left unsaid, I ask, “What is that?” “Nothing,” is the one word reply. Then the angel turns and disappears leaving me to mull over the solitary departing word.
Drained from all the excitement, mystery, and confusion, I realize I am very tired. So, I sit down to rest and think things through, only to fall fast asleep for many hours. When I awake, this silent tree, which reaches into the sky, still stands before me, as mysterious as ever. Although I feel foolish, my curiosity begins to overtake my sense of reason. Tentatively I speak, “How old are you great tree?” Rumbling up through its center and out through its branches comes the words, “I have no age.” “But, how can that be?” I am not sure if I am responding to the tree, or wondering out loud how it had spoken in the first place. No matter, the tree answers, “It’s because of who I am.”
“Who are you?” I query. “I am the Tree of Life. Those who partake of my nature, like me, live forever.” “I would like to live forever.” The tree responds, “Because you believed, and asked, you shall. Come live under my branches and let me shelter you from the stinging winter winds and the scorching summer heat. Here in my presence there are gifts to open sufficient for a lifetime and beyond.” “Oh I would like that.” I reply. Then I notice, even as I speak those words, a new ornament appears on the branch that spread before me. It was the image of me, and I know with certainty that what the tree had spoken was true. “Indeed this will be my forever Christmas.”
My prayer for all is that you too would enjoy a “Forever Christmas.”
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