We live in challenging times. Now that I’ve said it out loud, does it mean that we are no longer in charge of our lives? Is it in impossible to believe one man or woman can make a difference in the world today? I look around and find most people want to keep doing things the way we’ve always done them. Few people are willing to step out and espouse a radical point of view.

Can this world survive without people with radical views? We place our hopes and dreams on people who cannot meet our ever growing expectations. We long for a superman will come along to save the day. We lose faith in our own ability to change things, to take control of our own lives. Our rhetoric becomes unbearable as we continue searching for the person who will save us from ourselves. We end up disappointed in our choices and our actions.

My solution is to look beyond our challenges and understand that during demanding times we must embrace the faith of our fathers and mothers to help us create a more perfect world. Faith for many has become a four letter word for everything that we don’t believe in. The four letter word I would embrace in these difficult times is love. There once was a man who was very radical in his time not because he preached to overthrow the government. He didn’t believe in earthly authority and he disappointed many of his earthly followers by being unwilling to overthrow the status quo. He modeled a new style of leadership focusing on serving others. He warned people that to survive in challenging times, we must love one another, that we are our brother’s keepers. He told us through parables that we don’t all get the same gifts and strengths in life but we all have the opportunity to share what we have with others.

He told us that with faith we could move mountains and with unconditional love we could move others to help people with less than we had. He was a man who would not settle for less than he could be. It was a radical message for challenging times. He paid for challenging earthly authority with his life. He left a lasting legacy of wisdom and love that has survived over 2000 years.

He is my favorite person and he is my model of everlasting success. Merry Christmas, Jesus, thank you for changing my life and providing me a community of friends who want to change the world for the better. We both know that it takes unconditional love to heal the world but we also understand that the best place to start the healing process is with ourselves. We cannot give peace and love away without first giving it to ourselves. So, let me say peace on earth and goodwill towards all. Pass that message on to everyone you meet but, most importantly, to yourself. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families.