Christmas is the season when we are “guided by the better angels of our nature.” It is a pause in the days of the year which stirs up within us that inherent will to goodness which we are too inclined to suppress. It blacks out for a moment the doctrine of hate which is trying our souls, and lets in the gospel of love. It translates us in the twinkling of an eye from graspers to givers; from sinners to saints. It lifts our eyes again to the vision of the cross and reminds us that those who are born to serve are also born to suffer; that a manger may be, and usually is, a better starting place than a palace; and that adversity is a way of perfection for the righteous and a way of destruction for the reckless. – Matthew Cowley, “Matthew Cowley Speaks,” p. 227