Wednesday's Christ like Ideal of Good Will

I decided I want to post something here having to do with how we can become better women and men. I would say that I don't mean to be preachy but my walk with Christ has changed my life and I want all of the world to understand how Christ can change their life for the better. If you don't want to hear about it then I'm sorry.

In the gospel of St. Luke Chapter 2:8-14 we the angels praising the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

In this angelic chorus two ideals are expressed. The first and most important is the praise of God. This is properly placed first as the beginning and the foundation of all our human hopes. For if we should deny God or fail to praise and exalt him, we can never thereafter exalt and praise man so highly.

The second ideal of the angel's song is the proclamation of "peace on earth and good will toward men." Christ lived the ideal of good will for the world so completely that He is our standard of perfect kindness and brotherhood.

"Yet in the dark street shineth
The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight."

All of us must figuratively go to Bethlehem. As John Mulholland wrote, "All the world must go to Bethlehem though some but shut the door to Christ. . . all the world must go to Bethlehem and some will.. .find the world's wisdom there. . . All the earth must go to Bethlehem, for there is earth's hope."

If we are to become one with Christ as he promised, we must keep our "Christmas within."

"Then let every heart keep its Christmas within,
Christ's pity for sorrow, Christ's hatred of sin,
Christ's care for the weakest, Christ's courage for right,
Christ's dread for darkness Christ's love of the light
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night!"

In having good will and being a Christian there are tests of our discipleship to Christ. R.H.L. Shepard said, "Christianity consists not in abstaining from doing things that no gentleman would think of doing, but in doing things that are unlikely to occur to anyone who is not in touch with the spirit of Christ."

One of the questions we must ask of ourselves if we are to have good will is do we have room in our personal lives today for Christ. Do we put first things first. Do we give too much of ourselves to something other than Christ whether it be music, books, art, the Internet, video games, playing outdoors, or many other things. Christ stands at the door knocking and saying, "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come to him, and will sup with him and he with me."

"Let not our hearts be busy inns,
That have no room for thee,
But cradles for the living Christ
And his nativity.

Still driven by a thousand cares
The pilgrims come and go;
The hurried caravans press on;
The inns are crowded so!

Oh, lest we starve, and lest we die,
In our stupidity,
Come, Holy Child, within and share,
Our hospitality.

Let not our hearts be busy inns,
That have no room for thee,
But cradles for the living Christ
And his Nativity." -Ralph Spalding Cushman

Someone once said, "Whosoever thinks long enough in terms of Christ, lives long enough in terms of Christ will, in the end, become like Christ."

If we follow Christ and become more like him each day that we walk in his footsteps we will naturally find that we begin to have more good will toward our fellow man. Let us follow our Master and he will not lead us astray and by following him there will be peace on earth and good will toward men.