A Christmas message … We have the power for peace and goodwill

By John Ulaj
Publisher of The Review
I wish every one of you a Merry Christmas and a healthy New
Year!
I am so grateful and optimistic about 2025. There’s an old saying
to the effect of: “The reason I have a hard time sleeping is because I’m
so excited about the next day!”
Perhaps that feeling is what it is like when a child struggles to sleep on Christmas Eve, awaiting for Christmas morning.
A new year motivates and excites us to have always another chance to “get it right.”
We learn from past mistakes, trials, and errors as we try to better ourselves and focus on our objectives, missions and goals.
We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some carry heavier
burdens than others while it may appear that others stroll
through life without many hurdles to overcome.
It is said that even the richest men have their share of problems — if not the severest sort.
The burden comes when we think about trying to control the things
around us. This is very stressful. Keep in mind that there are over 8
billion people on earth, and, if we’re not careful, we’ll fall prey to the
deceptions that this crowded world offers.
Social media and digital deceptions are new problems that lurk all the time. Whether we like it or not, we do live in a fallen world.
The world is plagued with so many challenges, from disease, wars, famine, political strife to wealth gaps and many, many more.
All of us know a co-worker, friend or family member affected by
some of these circumstances that I mention.
We all have our struggles, and we all have a “cross to bear.”
The good news of Christmas is that, even when the world, or our circumstances in it change, the deepest message of Christmas is timeless: Christmas is about the birth of God’s Begotten Son – Jesus.
It is also about how God came to earth in human form, to give us love, hope and joy that are so badly needed.
That message doesn’t change from year to year. At Christmas, we
celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ — the Messiah, the promised King who
would set the world free of sin and death once and for all.
This is a gift that cannot be paid back; it is for the taking. It’s
yours. Just call upon Him, and he’ll stretch out his amazing arms of
salvation to you, because He is All That Is Good.
God loves humanity so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to be
offered as a living sacrifice so that we could, once and for all, be
reconciled with Him in eternal Love:
It is said in John 3:17: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, that the world through him might be saved.”
Also let it be known in Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. God in Christ Jesus is the answer Who was and is and is to come! King of kings LORD of lords!”
This is the true meaning of Christmas! The celebration of this
incredible act of love.
I realize the older you get, and the more you may witness your loved ones getting sick, suffering in their earthly bodies, that you might be tempted to turn from God’s Love.
But God’s Love is eternal. You need only accept it.
Christmas is a reminder that we can have peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Peace be with you and to yours this season.
Posted Dec. 20, 2024