Mel & Marge Reed, Charlotte NC 28213
(704-965-8510)
A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FOR 2010:
It is written that one day a child was born unto the world. And the child was said to have been the Word that was made flesh. And when he was grown and about to baptized, God would proclaim to all who stood round about that this man is his son. And from the life and teaching of Jesus begun in an obscure Roman province would come forth a religion that would influence every other religion and even convert the mightiest nation on earth to its gentle teachings. And the whole of his words was to simply show us how to know if we truly love our neighbor as we love ourselves. But one thing is certain, Jesus was not come to bring the world Christianity because the requirements Jesus gave us for entry into Heaven are consistent with every major religion. How is it that we have gotten so far away from something as simple as loving our neighbor as we love ourselves? Could it be that we discovered it is easier more convenient and more comfortable for ourselves only to serve mammon than God whereby we feel obligated to do something for someone else!
I hope this message helps us live as one people, one world according to the common teachings found in the Holy Scriptures of all religions. I hope it will cause us to revisit the lessons of people like Dr. King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Mahatma Ghandi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Justice Joseph Story, Crazy Horse, Frank Sinatra, Sala Hudin, Bishop Tutu and others who defended equality and freedom. I pray it will help our children to become one in love and unity. I pray it will be received in the spirit of Acts 2:46, where many from different faiths, races and lands, filled with joy and brotherly love, went from house-to-house breaking bread and making their homes into churches by doing so.
Celebrating the birth of Christ should be a commitment to love and goodwill for one’s neighbor. It should not be a time for any child to wake up to wondrous toys and good things to eat unless every child in the world can wake up to them. Would Jesus approve of 70% of the world’s children waking up hungry and abused on a day commemorating His birth because of who they were born to, or where they live? Let us celebrate the unifying message of Jesus truthfully. The salvation of our children depends on our ability to learn to love each other as we love ourselves.
In celebration of the birth of JESUS CHRIST, from all of us to all of you, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR, for unto all mankind, a savior was born! We should all vow to do better -yes?
MEL & MARGE, ERIKA & BRITTANY, LaDAVIA AND STEPHANIE
