By D. Padgett Blakley, Richard Blakley
During the Christmas season, some family traditions include watching many of the different movie versions of Charles Dickens’s novel, “A Christmas Carol”. Comparing the original book to the movies, some movies are fairly accurate and entertaining, while others have so vastly missed its essence that one begs the question, “Did they read the book?”
Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” tells the story of the ghost of Ebenezer Scrooge’s former business partner and “good friend,” Jacob Marley, who temporarily returns from hell to warn Scrooge to turn from his wicked ways. Marley explains that “Three Spirits” will visit Scrooge, with the purpose of helping Scrooge realize his need to repent and receive the redemption of the Lord, before it’s too late and he’s cast into hell. Marley told Scrooge the only possibility for Scrooge’s redemption was through the visitation of these spirits, at which point Scrooge stated, “He had rather this not occur”. His rejection of these visits meant Scrooge preferred to condemn himself to hell.
The first visiting spirit was the Ghost of Christmas Past, who revealed that Scrooge’s past choices had placed him on his current descending path. At the end of the first visit, Scrooge took the spirit’s candlesnuffer and pressed it down on the head of this spirit so as to extinguish the spirit’s light and quench the truth of how Scrooge’s life choices had brought him to where he was — on his way to hell. Scrooge did indeed snuff out the light of the first spirit that visited him. Why was that? It was because it had been revealed to Scrooge that his deeds were evil. Yet at that point, he didn’t wish to receive the light of truth, and he didn’t want to repent. Scrooge’s heart was such that he loved doing evil deeds. He enjoyed his sin and hated the light of truth which exposed his sins.
After the visitation of the first spirit, Scrooge’s desire was to extinguish the revealing light and continue with the unveiled sin. Scrooge was upset that his past ways were being brought to light, yet wasn’t sorry enough to change. Scrooge’s lifelong decisions had beguiled him to the entrance of hades and the wrath of God.
Shortly afterwards, the second spirit came, namely the Ghost of Christmas Present. This spirit shared how Scrooge’s present interactions with others were negatively and selfishly impacting the lives of so many people. Scrooge got to observe his own lack of compassion and total lack of mercy for others. He had set himself to be wicked and had matured into an unpleasant and lonely old miser.
What did it take to change Scrooge? The answer is, the visit of the third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Through this spirit, Scrooge was granted a Divine revelation of his future — in hell. Scrooge received the privilege to come face to face with the reality of his death and his destiny in hell — and guess what? Scrooge decided to repent and change. The story says that after this event, no better man could be found than Mr. Scrooge in the entire city. Speaking of Scrooge, Dickens stated, “He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle [moral reform and personal responsibility], ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.” Therefore, the whole community benefited from this change to do good.
Is this just a fanciful story? No, not at all. A professional associate of mine once spoke about going to a Fortune 100 company where he serviced their instruments. A young Christian lady there told of her non-Christian husband. At a later visit, the technician met the husband, who at that point, had become a Christian. The husband asked of the technician: “Do you want to know why I gave my life to Jesus Christ?” The technician said, “Sure.” The husband proceeded to say that he was given a book about somebody who died, went to hell, and was revived in the emergency room. This person became a Christian and wrote this book describing his experience. The husband recounted, “The book described hell, as being pitch black — it was so dark. It said hell — was intensely hot. It also said that in hell — you could hear screams all the time.” This husband said when he read this, he made the decision — that he did not want to go to hell — so he received Jesus as his Savior and LORD. Thus, a Divine revelation of hell was the catalyst causing this husband to change his heart, mindset and ways.
Another similar true story is about a young man who telephoned a minister because he wanted to be counselled about a certain life situation. After explaining the situation, he fully expected the clergyman to sympathize and say “you poor puppy.” Instead, this servant of God stated, “Son, you’re living in sin, and you’re going to hell.” The young man later explained that when he heard what the minister said, he knew that the minister was right and had loved him enough — to confront him with the truth. Two weeks later, the young man dedicated his life to Jesus Christ. This decision radically transformed this young man’s life for good, forever. Thus, a Divine revelation of hell, was the stimulus to prompt this young man to change his heart, his mind and his behaviors.
It’s been said that Jesus taught more often on hell than He did about heaven. Why? Because the most loving thing that can be said is the truth. As was once proclaimed on a friendly church’s marquee, “Heaven is sweet, hell is hot, and eternity is long.”
Thus, in keeping with the spirit of Dickens’s novel, “A Christmas Carol,” for people enjoying a life filled with no compassion, no mercy and other sins, like Dickens’s character Ebenezer Scrooge, may God grant them Marley’s gift of Christmas love — a Divine revelation of hell — for their “reclamation.”
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