What Do I Owe the Christ-Child?--A Poem

What Do I Owe to the Christ-Child?

By Dr. Chris King

“What do I have that I owe to the Christ-Child?”

A serious question to ponder;

“What do I have that I owe to the Christ-Child?”

I ask myself in awe and wonder.

I once thought that I’d given my all unto Him

My heart and my own sinful deeds.

All of the debt which I owed unto Him

Was now thus removed, no residual needs.

I then could go on in my self-centered ways,

Pursuing the things I held dear,

Knowing that I had my eternity grasped

In payment for past that had cleared.

However, what I had failed to consider,

What others, like me, had bemoaned.

Although God’s gift of salvation was free,

It costs more than I ever had known.

The prophets before me were given His message

Some centuries long ere He came.

Because of their faithfulness in sharing God’s Word,

Many died for the sake of His Name.

The shepherds were told by the angels that night

Of His coming and witnessed His birth.

Though smelling like sheep and despised by the town,

They testified of Messiah with mirth.

The magi came forth from their lands in the East

To give gifts to the King of the Jews.

After showing their costly wares to His kin

Via a tip, they took their leave by a ruse.

Like Scrooge, we must experience the transforming effect

The Christ-Child has on those who come near.

We feel the real debt for the blessings we’ve gained

From His grace and His mercy so dear.

We find ourselves needing to do so much more,

Not to earn or to gain His delight.

But to show appreciation for His blessings to us,

We give ourselves freely and with all of our might.

So, let this Christmas be a time to reflect

On the debt to the Christ-Child we owe.

Have we given Him everything that we have and we are?

Are there any backpayments we know?

As long as breath lingers, vital change is at hand.

We can take the steps required

To glorify God by the lives that we lead

And fulfill our debts as He desires.