I pray that parents are reminding their children what the real reason for the season is. And that is Jesus! Jesus is so much more important than giving children a glimpse of Santa and helping them write up a list of "worldly desires."
A sign recently seen, "Santa didn't die for anyone," is a quick reminder of what the season is about. The Angels didn't declare Santa's birth! The wise men didn't travel from afar to worship Santa.
Another great event took place in Matthew 18: 23-3 "And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." I can just see the children gathered around Jesus, with some sitting on his knee. The children's eyes were big with wonder. Jesus was showing a gentleness and love. Now this had to have been a "magical time". Santa just can't compare. Santa didn't freely allow himself to be nailed to a cross to save a life. Santa just cannot possible pull such a life-saving gift from his bag of gifts on Christmas night!
As the song goes, "Santa is coming to town. He sees you when your sleeping... so you better be good for goodness sake." Yet, it is not Santa who sees all and knows all. Jesus is the one who is watching, caring, and loving all year long. He is the One who knows whether you've been "bad or good."
Finally, I ask, "Can we really compare Santa's knee with the knee of Jesus? Can we compare Santa's bag full of goodies with the grace of Jesus? What is truly the magic of Christmas?"
TRUST in the Lord and do good;
DWELL in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
DELIGHT in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
COMMIT your way to the Lord,
TRUST also in Him ..."
Psalm 37:3-5
No comments:
Post a Comment