In the eighth grade through the month of December, I first read a classic novella that has seen numerous adaptations in movies and on TV shows. This book is of course, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. If you've only seen movie or TV special versions (like the 1938 or 1984 movies of "A Christmas Carol", "Mickey's Christmas Carol", "The Muppets Christmas Carol", Disney's 2009 "A Christmas Carol", the 1999 TV movie "A Christmas Carol" with Patrick Stewart, etc.)- you should definitely read the book. The book is always better than the movie.
This story has resonated with so many over the 182 years since it was first published. It is a great story that is told well, certainly. It's theme of redemption gets to a spiritual point that I think also sticks with many. We seem to have an instinct in our fallen human nature to want to repay others when we wrong them. This is in itself is not a bad thing, of course. We should definitely make amends when we have done wrong and ask others' forgiveness. However, if I insult my brother, then I should not need to do anything further to prove my sincerity when I humbly ask for his forgiveness. As Luke 17:4 says, even if I were to sin against my brother seven times a day and I were to return to him seven times saying, "I repent", he is obligated to forgive me, as Lord Jesus commanded. And I am obligated to forgive him the same as well.
And as Christians, we know that we have been forgiven of all our sins- past, present and future- and thus, we can do no less than to forgive others as The Lord has forgiven us. (See Colossians 3:13)
And it's interesting to consider that Scrooge was taken to his past, present and future- and he saw how where his choices led and how his sins affected both himself and others. And as Romans 2:4 tells us, God's kindness leads us to repentance, much as it happened for Scrooge. Even with the hardships that Bob Cratchit and his family endured as a result of Ebenezer Scrooge's cruelty in overworking him and paying him little, Bob had kind words for him on Christmas, with Bob calling him the "Founder of the Feast". Scrooge was also shown kindness by his nephew Fred, who invites him to Christmas dinner and wishes him a "Merry Christmas", reminding him of some of the good Christmas brings.
Of course, the ultimate good Christmas brought us was Christ Himself, Who is the Founder of the feast for us! And I am moved to tears to read Tiny Tim's thoughts in church, when he says to his father that he "hoped the people
saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be
pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, Who made lame
beggars walk, and blind men see.” And perhaps it was hearing this, along with Tiny Tim's famous request, "God bless us, everyone!" that drew Scrooge to feeling concern for Tiny Tim's life. He pleaded with the Ghost of Christmas Present for Tim's life to be spared.
“If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of
my race,” returned the Ghost, “will find him here. What then? If he be
like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the
Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.
“Man,” said the Ghost, “if man you be in heart, not adamant,
forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus
is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men
shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more
worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child.
Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much
life among his hungry brothers in the dust!” Scrooge bent before the Ghost’s rebuke, and trembling cast his
eyes upon the ground." (from Stave III of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens)
Ebenezer Scrooge is fully brought to repentance when he sees his own tombstone and hears how much joy his own passing brings so many others. Before that last scene in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Future though, he also witnesses the faith of the Cratchits as they mourn Tiny Tim. Dickens quotes Matthew 18:2 which he has Peter reading from The Bible, where Jesus takes a young child and sets him in front of the disciples, telling them they must have the faith of a child to enter the kingdom of Heaven. As Dickens later notes in relation to this reference, "Spirit of Tiny Tim, they childish essence was from God!" Scrooge later pleads with the last Ghost to have another chance, as he sees his own doom in the end. I think his plea here belies a crucial point to remember in the way we think about salvation.
“Spirit!” he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not
the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this
intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope!”
For the first time the hand appeared to shake.
“Good Spirit,” he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell
before it: “Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me
that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an
altered life!”
The kind hand trembled.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the
year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of
all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that
they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”
In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself,
but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit, stronger
yet, repulsed him.
Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he
saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrunk,
collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost." (from Stave IV of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens)
Note that Scrooge wants to change the shadows of what will be by an "altered life". We know clearly from Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are not saved by good works. It's important to understand that we can do absolutely nothing to save ourselves. The standard for entry into Heaven is perfection and none of us meet that standard. We are all "old covetous sinners" like Scrooge. We are all condemned to Hell because of our rebellion against God. No matter how many good deeds we may do, we can never appease God with such acts. Rather, we must collapse all our self-efforts and acknowledge before God that we are wretched sinners who deserve His wrath and we can do nothing to earn His forgiveness. We also can do nothing to earn God's love because He's already given that to us for free! That's why Jesus died in our place and rose again- so that we could be saved from the wrath we deserve and be given the Heaven we don't deserve instead! And that's available for free by God's grace through faith!
What did Scrooge say he would do? "I will honour Christmas in my heart". That sounds a lot like what 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to do. "In your hearts, honour Christ The Lord as holy." We put faith in Him alone, acknowledging Him as Lord and honouring Him as holy. We believe Him for forgiveness of our sins. And through our faith in His grace, we are saved.
Where do we go from there? The picture of Scrooge's redemption is a great model of what repentance should look like in our lives. Because we have been saved by Christ, we are then motivated by love and gratitude to Him to keep His commands, just as His Spirit strives within us to help us do. We don't shut out His lessons but rather trust Him and obey Him. And when Scrooge awakes again in his own bedroom, he praises Heaven for salvation! The sheer joy and exhilaration he feels is evident in his abandon as he cheerfully greets everyone with a "Merry Christmas" and dives right away into making changes. He buys a huge turkey for the Cratchits' Christmas dinner and he gives generously to the poor. He enjoys dinner with his nephew Fred and family and he raises Bob's salary and offers to assist his struggling family. Everyone in town can see the evident change in Scrooge to the point that some laughed at the spectacle he no doubt made of himself, though he doesn't care. This kind of change is reminiscent of the total change Jesus makes in Zacchaeus' life, when he pledges to give half his possessions to the poor and repay anyone he's cheated four times the amount. Zacchaeus first welcomed Jesus into his house and heart with gladness and then he was moved to change his ways- and Jesus declared that salvation had come to his house that day. (See Luke 19:1-10)
And this change that Christ brings lasts for eternity! We can see that Scrooge's repentance is real, as we are told at the end of the book that it continued throughout his life. "Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely
more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He
became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the
good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in
the good old world." (from Stave V of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens) When we know the love of Jesus, it should overflow from our hearts to affect all those around us. We should do the good works God made for us to do all along. (Ephesians 2:10) This is the picture of true repentance. It's not a fearful striving to do enough good works to appease God. It's a joyful desire to show God's love to everyone because we have experienced the goodness of God and we can't help but show it to others! As Acts 4:20 says, "we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard." May that always truly be said of us! God loves us and Jesus has died and risen to save us from Hell and take us to Heaven instead if we will put faith in Him and follow Him. May His Name and His praise ever be seen in us. Merry Christmas! Happy Easter! Hallelujah! :-)
"His own heart laughed: and that was
quite enough for him.
He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the
Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of
him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive
possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!
And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!" (from Stave V of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens)
