(Post by: Michelle Hobbs)
There is a line from my favorite Christmas book and movie, A Christmas Carol, that I think of almost daily. It is this:
“Your reclamation, then. Take heed!”
If you are not familiar with the story, allow me to set the stage.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter, greedy financier who despises Christmas and cares little for others. Despite the kindness of his nephew and clerk, he remains unchanged until he is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, burdened by chains forged from his own sins, warns Scrooge that a life without compassion leads to suffering after death. He explains that it is too late to correct such mistakes once one has died but offers Scrooge hope by telling him he will be visited by three Spirits who may help him change his fate.
Scrooge is first visited by the Spirit of Christmas Past. The ghost is described as a strange figure, both young and old, muscular yet weak, wearing winter holly and summer flowers. He was light in one instant and dark in the next. A pretty good description of how our past appears to us as we look back upon it.
“‘Who, and what are you?’ Scrooge demanded.
‘I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.’
‘Long Past?’ inquired Scrooge…
‘No. Your past.’”
Scrooge becomes increasingly anxious at this point, desiring to have the Spirit put on his cap to cover the light emanating from his head. I believe that Scrooge was afraid to see what the light would reveal. Don’t we fear that as well?
The ghost exclaimed, “‘What! Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light that I give?’”
Scrooge then finds the courage to ask the Spirit exactly why he has come. (This is where my favorite line comes in!)
“‘Your welfare!’ said the Ghost. Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end. The Spirit must have heard him thinking, for it said immediately: ‘Your reclamation, then. Take heed!’
It put out its strong hand as it spoke, and clasped him gently by the arm.
‘Rise! and walk with me!’”
I hope you are already beginning to see the allusion to the Gospel here! Remember the instances in the Bible where Jesus provided divine healing, and said, rise and walk!
The Spirit was sent to reclaim Scrooge’s past; to force his suppressed, hurtful past into his present and help him recollect the good that was there also.
Have no doubt, there was plenty of bad that shaped Scrooge into the miserable man he was, but with the Spirit’s guidance, Scrooge was able to reframe the past into something that could be used for his healing.
He saw himself as a young boy, left alone at his school while all of his classmates went home for Christmas. Simply heartbreaking! However, he also remembered the books he read during that time and the imagination they developed in him; the companionship those literary characters provided. Scrooge was able to see the beauty in that time; to have sympathy for himself as a boy but also love that version of himself.
Scrooge was then transported to Mr. Fezziwig’s shop where he was an apprentice. He felt, once again, the joy that Mr. Fezziwig brought to those around him. Even though he was not rich enough to throw elaborate parties, they were rich in joy. Scrooge’s heart and soul remembered, enjoyed, and even blessed that time.
Finally, Scrooge observed what was his biggest heartbreak. His fiancé, Belle, broke off their engagement, stating that he had replaced her with another idol, the pursuit of wealth. She tells him, “‘You fear the world too much…I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master passion, Gain, engrosses you.” She points out his changed nature; his altered spirit.
She then says something very prophetic. ‘You may have pain in this. A very, very brief time, and you will dismiss the recollection of it, gladly, as an unprofitable dream…”
Scrooge wrestles with these memories; just as Jacob wrestled with God to get a blessing out of the fight. God wanted to reclaim Jacob and the Spirit is trying to reclaim Scrooge by reframing his recollection of his past; leading him to see the good and recognize how the bad had hardened his heart. These past visions are calling Scrooge to become someone different; a joy filled man rather than a lost, lonely, miserable one.
My question to you is this. What does the Lord want to reclaim in you and for you?
Maybe you have never allowed Jesus to reclaim your soul through the gift of salvation He offers to each and every one of us. Let Him reclaim your soul today!
Maybe you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, but you have allowed past hurts and failures to rob you of joy. Let Him reclaim your joy and excitement to be alive!
Have you lost your sense of wonder, your appreciation of beauty, your attention to the presence of God in everything? Ask Him to reclaim those things today!
Reclamation requires us to turn away from worldly things and focus on inward things; to recollect the past and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in discovering the good there that can be used for our healing.
At the heart of our reclamation is a return to our soul’s relationship with God as our maker, and as the keeper of our past, present, and future.
Let us “Take heed!” as Scrooge did and humble ourselves to allow the Spirit to reclaim us this Christmas, filling us with a sense that our lives and the world around us are gifts to be treasured.
The Few 
Leave a comment