Article December 6, 1982 Issue

True presence

VIRGINIA RIEKSE

It's Christmastime. The phone rings. "Sorry, Mom and Dad, we can't get away to be with you this year. But presents are on their way." Turning from the phone, Mom and Dad exchange quiet glances. They'd hoped for presence, not presents.

But the joy of being with loved ones only hints at higher joys. So, Mom and Dad need not succumb to sadness and self-pity. Instead, they can triumphantly lift up their thoughts to God and be truly grateful for this profound truth: "In thy presence is fulness of joy."Ps. 16:11.

Christmas is honored by Christians as a time to commemorate the love of God brought to earth. The gift of Love's ever-presence was made vivid to mankind in the man Jesus and his life. The pure love he lived makes understandable Jesus' title of "the Christ." This Christ—the spiritual idea of God's fatherhood—crosses the barriers of time, thereby today and always certifying to Spirit's all-presence.

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