n it sleeps some of the omnipotence and worth of God.

But the Child which God gave the world as its Christmas gift was no
merely human child however richly endowed. This Child was human and was
born in time, but he was also divine and came forth from eternity. The
possibilities that were sleeping in this Child were foreseen by the
prophet Isaiah in the names that were prophetically given him, every
name being a window through which we can look in upon his personality
and power, every title being one of his crowns: "His name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace." All these powers and possibilities are incarnated in this Child,
and he is working them out in a redeemed world. God made no mistake,
then, he gave us no small and common gift, but he did his best and gave
the world the greatest possible Christmas Gift when this Child was born.
All the grass in the world came from one seed, all the roses from one
root, and all the redeemed that shall at last populate heaven and fill
it with praise throughout eternity shall be saved by the grace and clad
in the beauty of this Child.

XIX. A World Without Christmas

What would be the effect of blotting Christmas out of the calendar of
the world? Imagination would have to explore wide and deep in order to
trace all the consequences. The gladdest holiday of the year would fade
into a common day. The weeks that precede it would lose all their
interest of preparation and expectation and would sink into dull days.
The stores would not blossom out into brilliant bazars, cunning fingers
would not be busy in secret, there would be no making and buying and
hiding gifts, and there would be nothing waiting to be disclosed on
Christmas morning! The morning of this day would dawn gray and bleak
just like any other morning, and no red letter would distinguish it on
the calendar of the year. There would be no glad greetings with the
first streak of light, no rush for gifts and joyous surprises, no home
gatherings, no neighborhood festivities, no benefactions to the poor.
The tide of life would not on this day rise higher and run fuller and
take on richer colors and sparkle with brighter joy, but it would remain
at the old level and creep along in the same dull sluggish way.

Deeper losses would result from blotting this day from the calendar.
There would be no story to tell of that wondrous birth that took place
on the first Christmas