Lord, Save Me (c) 2012
Last year the readers of Meridian helped us give more than 150,000 pictures of Christ to those in prison, serving in the military, and around the world.
I must confess that I am a bit of a grinch when it comes to Christmas. I really thought my Ebenezer attitude was hidden away until I overheard my five year old daughter say to her friend, “My dad hates Christmas because he has to pay Santa for all of the toys.”
My road to “humbug” began ten years ago when I began working retail. Those wonderful Christmas favorites sung by Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole seemed to lose a bit of the magic as I listen to them piped through the mall on an endless background loop. I was determined not to let my growing cynicism overtake my Christmas spirit. I told myself I was going to make this Christmas more meaningful for me and my family by putting Christ at the center of our celebration… I have been telling myself that every year only to find myself struggling on Christmas Eve to find the Christmas story (it is in Luke 2, by the way) and wondering why it is that despite my best intentions Jesus is more than a speed bump on the way to the presents.
Jesus Christ by Carl Bloch
Then last year all of that changed. I am not going to tell you that I traded in my grinchy ways all at once, but I was blessed to be a part of a project that truly helped me put Christ back into Christmas. The project is called Picture of Christ.
With the help of wonderful artists who donate their images we are able to print and distribute free pictures of Christ to anyone that wants one. To date we have given away more than 150,000 pictures and counting. We hope you will join us as we work to put a picture of Christ in every home.
There are three ways you can help.
1. Get your own free picture of Christ.
You can start by going to our website to find one of our 400 partners then stop in and pick up your own free picture of Christ.
Suffer the Little Children (c) 2012
2. Share with Others
The Lord has asked each of us to share the “good news” of Christ. We can do this by giving our friends and neighbors a picture of the Savior this Christmas. This gift bears a powerful witness to others that we are Christians who know and love the Lord. Another way to share with others is by talking about your experiences. It is amazing that over the short three years of the Lord’s ministry He healed thousands. Even more remarkable is the realization that He did this one-by-one. Certainly, He could have healed the crowds who gathered for His help, yet He took the time to touch and talk to each person individually. We can do the same by sharing our witness of Christ
3. Give a Gift
There are many this holiday season who need the Lord, but are not sure where to find Him. You can help by donating pictures of Christ to those in prison, the military, or other local charities. Just go to: www.pictureofchrist.org/give
