Mr. Kim certainly cannot write all the excitement off as a "Western" thing, as he sees so many millions of his fellow-Koreans in the South, increased thousands upon thousands of Chinese, Russians all around him, inhabitants of the lands of Southeast Asia all giving a place to the Star of Bethlehem.

So Merry Christmas, Mr. Kim. We do hope you can figure all this out eventually, and in time even be among those who, like the truly Wise Men of earth, will come and bow low before this Jesus Christ, the very Son of the very living God.

We give our best greetings to the true believers inside North Korea, also. For yes, they do exist, and they prosper. But alas, they have no tree erected but the cross of Christ, no gifts to offer but their suffering and tears.

I wonder what would it be like should we suddenly be whisked away from our own trees, to meet the North Korean believers in a neutral place for a short time of gift exchange? American Christians may cockily think the North Koreans would be ashamed that they have nothing material to give, while we would pour on them appliances and fine clothing and rich foods and furniture and car keys and deeds to fantastic homes. But if they then would show us their scars and tell us of their bereavements and imprisonments and relate to us what they had to eat all day yesterday, all because of loving Jesus, who would feel the most shame?

Ah! I mean no guilt or condemnation this happy morning! We are what we are in Christ. We have travelled thus far in the light we have been given. May the fulness of His light dawn upon us and take precedence over all the lesser lights we have valued until now. Eventually Christ will bring us all into the perfection that only He knows how to accomplish. I only pray that from this time on I will find "under the tree" where Christ already burdens himself, my own hunched body . For as Paul says, "If one died" - and He did - "then all are dead."