"Surely, my friends, that would be a strange way of keeping my birthday; surely I should feel very hurt by such conduct; surely it would be a perfect sham to pretend to be keeping my birthday, and yet not take the slightest notice of me, except to annoy and wound me! My friends," said the minister, "this afternoon I took a walk. In the course of my walk I saw a number of people who pretended to be keeping a birthday. And yet what were a great many of them doing? They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves, and having a merry time of it."
"But I noticed that the One whose birthday it was, was quite forgotten: they had not given Him one single present all day long they had never once spoken to Him; all day long He had never been in their thoughts; all day long He had been completely and entirely passed by and forgotten."
"Nor was this all. I saw some who seemed to be taking a pleasure in doing the very things He does not like, the very things which offend and grieve Him—drinking and quarrelling, and taking His holy name in vain."
"And yet all these, my friends, pretended to be keeping the Lord Jesus Christ's birthday!"
"But, I trust, by seeing you here to-night, that you have not been amongst their number. I would therefore only put to you this one question—"
"The Lord Jesus Christ's birthday! Have you made Him a present to-day?"
"A present!" you say. "What can I give Him? He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. What have I that is fit for a present to a king?"
"Give Him what He asks for, my friends. He says to you to-night, 'Give Me thine heart.'"
"That is the birthday present He is looking for. Will you hold it back?"
"Oh, think of what we are commemorating to-day. Think how He left His glory, and came to be a poor, helpless babe for you; think, my friends, of all His wonderful love to you. And then I would ask you, Can you refuse Him what He asks? Can you say—"