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Yes, Virginia, there is a Jesus
EDITOR'S NOTE -- The following was written by Gene O. Morris on Dec. 24, 1975, when he was managing editor of the McCook Daily Gazette. He went on to be publisher of the Benkelman Post and McCook Daily Gazette and is now marketing consultant for this newspaper.
Cynicism is an occupational hazard in the newspaper business. I guess it's because we bear witness, every day, to human suffering and human failure. There is lots of good news, sure, but there are also fires, kidnappings, murders, thievery and political skullduggery.
After awhile--partly to preserve our sanity--we news people find our hearts hardening. Casually, we ask each other, "Any local deaths?," And, cynically, we belittle starry-eyed promoters, telling them to stick to the facts, facts, facts.
But, thank God, Christmas comes once a year.
It's then that the child which is in each of us peeks through the gloom and the doom and hopes, once again, for a world which tries to live up to Christ's example.
With this in mind, let me attempt to answer a letter which I never received, but wished I did. It is from a little girl, named Virginia, who asks:"Mr. Editor, is there really a Jesus? My daddy said if I see it in the Gazette it really is so."
Here's the answer.
My Dear Virginia,
Yes, there is a Jesus.
He was born many, many years ago in a little town, far away, called Bethlehem. He lived on the planet only 33 years, but -- in that time -- he became the greatest person who ever lived.
There were no newspapers or radio or TV in those days, but we are sure He lived because some men who knew Him wrote the story of His life and put it in a book called the Bible.
Those stories -- written nearly (now over) 2,000 years ago -- have changed the lives of millions of men, women and children. Today, nearly (now more than) a billion people call themselves Christians, which is another way of saying they believe in Jesus.
The reason for this, Virginia, is that Jesus Christ was a very, very special man. He told us to love God. He told us to love other people as we love ourselves, He told us to forgive people when they make mistakes. He told us we should be like lamps, which was His way of saying our lives should shine and be useful. He told us our faith should be like a mustard seed, which is a little, tiny speck which grows into a great big tree.
Although many of us call ourselves Christians, we haven't done a very good job of following his example. We are greedy. We fight. We hate other people because they don't agree with us.
But there's another great thing about Jesus, Virginia. No matter what we have done wrong, He -- through God -- will forgive us just as we should forgive those who have hurt us.
One of the best examples of the importance of Jesus is Christmas day. Because, you see Virginia, Christmas really is a great, big celebration of Jesus's birthday.
Once a year, we try to give Jesus what he wants all year, every year: for us to love each other.
In years to come you will learn more and more about this man called Jesus. Tomorrow would be a good day to start. Ask your Mom and Dad to read you the story from the Bible about the day Jesus was born. It's in the part called, "Luke," and tells about an angel appearing to announce the most joyful news ever announced: "The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ -- has been born tonight in Bethlehem."
It's a beautiful story Virginia. It will change your life.
God Bless You,