THREE TREES OF CHRISTMAS

by Dawn Baumeister

O, Christmas tree, so tall and green,

Your boughs bedecked with rainbow sheen,

Your lights remind me of the birth

Of One who lights the world, whose worth

Far exceeds the gifts we give;

He came to die so we could live.

It all began in Eden fair

With one choice tree God planted there

To test the heart of man to see

If he would bow to God or tree,

To test man's faith in God's own Word:

"You shall not eat" is what they heard.

A serpent came and told some lies.

('Twas Satan really in disguise.)

He contradicted God and said,

"Take, eat, you surely won't be dead."

The woman took the fruit and ate,

Then shared it with her willing mate.

From that day on death entered in

To pay the penalty for sin.

Man chose that day to disobey,

But God prepared another way

To take away the sin of man--

To pay the debt was God's great plan.

So God prepared another tree

To plant upon Mt. Calvary

And planted in the womb of one

The seed of His own sinless Son,

Begotten as our sacrifice

To bear our sin, to pay the price.

It worked! For though He died that day,

His body did not stay that way;

His broken body in the grave

Became first fruits of life to save

Mankind from sin and death's decay.

"Take, eat," He said. "I am the way."

No works of man can earn a place

In Heaven, only by God's grace

Through His shed blood on Calv'ry's tree

Where Jesus died for you and me,

The debt is paid, the gift receive--

Eternal life--bow and believe!

"The wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:23