Pendant cette période, tout le monde fait du shopping, achète des cadeaux, il y a plein de publicité à la radio et dans les magasins, et tout cela augmente au fur et à mesure que mon anniversaire se rapproche.

C'est vraiment bien de savoir, qu'au moins une fois par an, certaines personnes pensent à moi. Pourtant je remarque que si au début les gens paraissaient comprendre et semblaient reconnaissants de tout ce que j'ai fait pour eux, plus le temps passe, et moins ils semblent se rappeler la raison de cette célébration. Les familles et les amis se rassemblent pour s'amuser, mais ils ne connaissent pas toujours le sens de la fête.

Je me souviens que l'année dernière il y avait un grand banquet en mon honneur. La table de salle à manger était remplie de mets délicieux, de gâteaux, de fruits et de chocolats. La décoration était superbe et il y avait beaucoup de magnifiques cadeaux emballés de manière très spéciale.

Mais vous savez quoi? Je n'étais pas invité... J'étais en théorie l'invité d'honneur, mais personne ne s'est rappelé de moi et ils ne m'ont pas envoyé d'invitation. La fête était en mon honneur, mais quand ce grand jour est arrivé, on m'a laissé dehors, et ils m'ont fermé la porte à la figure... et pourtant moi je voulais être avec eux et partager leur table.

En réalité, je n'étais pas surpris de cela car depuis quelques années, toutes les portes se referment devant moi.

Comme je n'étais pas invité, j'ai décidé de me joindre à la fête sans faire de bruit, sans me faire remarquer. Je me suis mis dans un coin, et j'ai observé. Tout le monde buvait, certains étaient ivres, ils faisaient des farces, riaient à propos de tout. Ils passaient un bon moment. Pour couronner le tout, ce gros bonhomme à la barbe blanche est arrivé, vêtu d'une longue robe rouge, et il riait sans arrêt : 'ho ho ho!' Il s'est assis sur le sofa et tous les enfants ont couru autour de lui,  criant 'Père Noël! Père Noël!', comme si la fête était en son honneur!

A minuit, tout le monde a commencé à s'embrasser; j'ai ouvert mes bras et j'ai attendu que quelqu'un vienne me serrer dans ses bras et... vous savez quoi... personne n'est venu à moi.

Soudain ils se sont tous mis à s'échanger des cadeaux. Ils les ont ouverts un par un, en grande excitation. Quand tout a été déballé, j'ai regardé pour voir si, peut-être, un cadeau était resté pour moi. Qu'auriez vous ressenti si, le jour de votre anniversaire, tout le monde s'échangeait des cadeaux et que vous n'en receviez aucun ? J'ai enfin compris que je n'étais pas désiré à cette soirée et je suis parti silencieusement.

Tous les ans ça empire. Les gens se rappellent seulement de ce qu'ils boivent et mangent, des cadeaux qu'ils ont reçus, et plus personne ne pense à moi. J'aurais voulu pour la fête de Noël, cette année, que vous me laissiez rentrer dans votre vie. J'aurai souhaité que vous vous rappeliez qu'il y a plus de 2000 ans de cela, je suis venu au monde dans le but de donner ma vie pour vous, et en définitive pour vous sauver.

Aujourd'hui je souhaite seulement que vous croyiez à cela de tout votre cœur. Comme nombreux sont ceux qui ne m'ont pas invité à leur fête l'an passé, je vais cette fois organiser ma propre fête et j'espère que vous serez nombreux à me rejoindre.

En guise de réponse positive à mon invitation, envoyez ce message au plus grand nombre de personnes que vous connaissez.

Je vous en serai éternellement reconnaissant.

Je vous aime très fort !

Jésus

 
Hello dear friend!

Well, as you know, it's time for my birthday again. Last year, they had a real big party for me and it seems like they will again this year. After all, they've been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there have been announcements and advertisements almost everyday about how soon it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that at least on one day of the year some people are thinking about me a little.

You know, its been many years now since they first started celebrating my birthday. Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is for the little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing the point of it all.

Like last year, for example: When my birthday came around, they threw a big party, but can you believe it?... I wasn't even invited! Imagine! The guest of honor, and they forgot all about me! Here they had begun preparing for the festivities two months in advance, but when the big day came, I was left out in the cold! Well, it has happened so many times in recent years, I wasn't even surprised. Even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just quietly slip in anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side.

Everyone was drinking, laughing and having a grand time, when all of a sudden, in came this fat fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a phony white beard and shouting, Ho ho ho! He looked like he had more than enough to drink, but he somehow managed to weave his way running around the floor while everyone cheered. When he collapsed into a big armchair, all the little children went running over to him excitedly yelling, Santa! Santa! I mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was in his honor!

Then he began telling them the most ridiculous stories you've ever heard!...that he lives at the North Pole with a crew of dwarfs and that every year on my birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeers, delivering presents to children all over the world! I mean there wasn't a word of truth in anything he said! Imagine telling such poor, little, impressionable kids such far-fetched fables!

Finally I just had to leave, I walked out of the door, and it was hardly surprising that no one even noticed that I had gone. As I walked down the street afterward, I felt about as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog! I could hardly remember the last time I'd felt that low. Maybe you don't think I cry.....

That little manger scene you had put up in the corner of your living room was really touching! It's sweet of people to commemorate my birthday like that. But did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities won't even allow manger scenes to be placed in the parks, streets, or public places anymore! Not to mention their schools! And I'm not talking about Communist countries! I'm talking about the good, ol USA, Imagine! What could be more innocent than a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? ...and yet they ban it! They've actually passed laws against it and made it illegal! What's this world coming to?

Another thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me presents, most people give gifts to each other! And to top it all off, it's usually all kinds of stuff they don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't you find it odd if when your birthday came along, all your friends decided to celebrate it by giving each other presents and never gave you a thing?

Someone once told me, Well, it's because you're not around like other people are, so how can we give you a present? You know my answer to that one: Then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, help those who need it. Go visit the lonely! I said, Listen, any gift you give to your needy fellow men, I'll count as if you gave it to me personally! (See Matthew 25:34-40)

Well sad to say, things are getting worse each year. It reminds me of what happened recently to a friend of mine, a sweet elderly fellow. He's from the poorer side of town and he's been trying unsuccessfully for years to join the church. But it was a very exclusive church for the proper kind of folks, and they just did not think he was good enough to be a member. I found him one day sitting by the church steps with his head on his hands bowed and I asked him what was wrong, he told me about it. I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew just how he felt. I've been wanting to enter that same church for twenty years and they've never let me in either!

Well there's an end even to my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a secret. Now this is something I've been planning on doing for quite sometime, but the way things are going, I think I'm planning on holding my own party! How about that? It's going to be the biggest most fantastic feast you could possibly imagine! It might not happen this year. But I'm sending out the invitations now anyway because I know you'll want to come. There's going to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old timers and celebrities are going to be there and I'll reserve your seat of honor right with them! (Matthew 8:11)

So hold on to your hat because when everything is ready, I'm going to spring it as a big surprise! And a lot of people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn't answer my invitation. Let me know right away if you'd like to come, and I'll reserve you a place and write your name in large golden letters in my great big Guest Book!

Much Love,

Jésus

This is a story about a guy, a guy like most of us, common, questioning his existences, measuring himself to others, never believing in his abilities or his worth. Then one day, his passion outgrew his fears as he stepped onto a stage, a stage that took him to a place beyond his self imposed prison. Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out on the stage. You can almost see what they're thinking as they pre-judge this guy based on his looks and the fact that he's a cell phone salesman.

Maybe this guy stopped believing in what people told him for so many years and ultimately started listening to his passion.

http://www.maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html