Sacred Gift

By Joy Axelson

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The Prince of Peace from heaven came,
no earthly kingdoms to His name,
to save the world through sacrifice,
to live a blameless, perfect life.

He chose to tread the paths we share;
humanity, His driving care.
A tiny child born Christmas night,
incarnate, banished evil's might.

He grew to be the Christ who cried
in pain yet rescued as He died.
For those who mocked and tortured him,
He begged God to forgive their sin.

And as He hung in scorn and shame,
whisperings of Messiah's name
were on the lips of those who knew
His mission that was nearly through.

One task remained: Emmanuel
would break the chains of death and hell.
And so He rose on Easter morn
to feed fresh faith to all forlorn.

He lives to intercede for us --
God’s sacred Gift of Christmas.

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Joy Nevin Axelson earned a B.A. and an M.A. in French. She also attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Illinois. She’s the translation coordinator for GlobalFingerprints, the Evangelical Free Church of America's child sponsorship branch. Her translations of training materials are used at 14 international sites. She enjoys travelling with her husband and two older children.