The Tribune

THIS WEEK’S e-mail brought a Christmas card message with a great depth of meaning. It was a hillside scene of a furry little lamb looking down onto the peaceful scene of Bethlehem. On a nearby hillside a lone shepherd stood guard over his sheep while a brilliant star illuminated the whole.

It was a simple scene of great historic portent. The event that took place in that humble stable that night more than 2,000 years ago, has transformed the world. It radiated a message of love, of forgiveness, of hope, of redemption —

The message on the card read: “He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.”

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is His name”— Luke 1:49.

This year as we enjoy Christmas with family and friends, we should put dear Santa Claus to one side long enough to dwell on that message of supreme love when a God-man so loved the world that he gave up his life to save it.

It is time for every Bahamian to take stock. It is the moment to examine our lives, to think of our country and its future and discover what we, as individuals, can do to improve, not only our own lot, but the lot of our fellow men and make unselfish decisions that the next generation will have no choice but to take pride in their inheritance and continue in its preservation.

It is time for our angry young men to come in from the darkness, seek guidance and understand that they were not created for destruction, but for creation. They are no good to anyone in a prison cell or an unmarked grave. Their killing and their hatred must end. Their country needs them, it needs their strength, their youth. They are no good to anyone in a prison cell. Instead of being of benefit to their country, they are a burden. Those bent on evil, on hate, on destruction are adding to man’s debt that will never decrease unless and until man changes his destructive ways — this includes every level of society, every level of industry, not just those who are now creating havoc on our streets and in our homes.

We pray that our politicians come to terms with the words of Sir Winston Churchill: “It would be a great reform in politics if wisdom could be made to spread as easily and rapidly as folly! For what is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who live in it after we are gone?”

On behalf of our newspaper and The Tribune family, we wish our readers, our clients and our opponents a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And may the Spirit of Christmas be as special and unique as the day Christ was born to save us from ourselves.