Christmas 2023 through the eyes of Ebenezer Scrooge
Every weekend, my wife and I enjoy pizza and a movie night. During the Christmas season, movie night is dedicated to some of our favorite Christmas stories. One of our all-time favorites is A Christmas Carol and the story of redemption and reclamation we learn from the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. In particular, we like the 1984 version starring George C. Scott.
It’s Nineteenth Century London, and Scrooge is a bitter, cranky old man who exploits his employees and the people he does business with, and even ignores his own family.
Of course, those familiar with A Christmas Carol know that the doomed ghost of Scrooge’s old business partner, Jacob Marley, who was in his lifetime just as mean and miserly as Scrooge had become, visits him on Christmas Eve to warn him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife.
Marley tells Scrooge that he’ll be visited by three spirits that evening, and when they make their appearances, Scrooge is shown the pain of his past, how he has allowed that pain to form his present, and the terrible end he faces in the future if he doesn’t change his ways.
In the end, Ebenezer Scrooge realizes the errors of his past and changes his ways on Christmas Day, saving himself and those he loves.
I love A Christmas Carol and the story of Ebenezer Scrooge because it’s my story, and perhaps it’s yours as well — the story of redemption from our sins and reclamation from the errors of our past.
If you’re feeling a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge this Christmas, let me invite you to take a moment to reflect on your past, learn from it, and then allow what you learn to change your present. If you’re willing, this change can create a future that will be better for you and those you love.
Most importantly, if we remember the real reason for Christmas — the celebration of God’s gift to the world, his only Son Jesus — this Christmas season can be a time of redemption and reclamation for us all … just as it was for Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.
Merry Christmas! God bless us, every one!
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.
Follow the Strident Conservative on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to receive podcasts of his daily radio feature: iTunes | Stitcher | Tune In | iHeart | RSS
For media inquiries or to have David speak to your group, use the Contact Us form.
