“The Santa Clause”
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” “Elf”
Santa is a staple in most Christmas movies. He is usually the hero of the story but has trouble convincing people that he is real. Most of the time he wears a red suit and, in the movies, rides a sleigh with reindeer. There are, however, certain things that we can always count on in our theaters when it comes to Mr. Claus. One thing that is consistently present is…LISTS.
Santa receives lists, keeps lists, reads lists, checks lists…he even checks them TWICE! Yes, our white bearded bringer of Christmas joy loves lists! However, I’m not sure the big man’s “list” obsession is a good thing for our Christmas celebration. For example, throughout the year he receives lists from millions of children (and adults) letting him know their heart’s desires. Some are short and some are long. But, most are just the things we think we need to be happy. This can lead us to treat God like a big Santa Claus who is in heaven for the purpose of fulfilling our requests. So our prayers are simply lists of wants and needs. This is not the purpose of prayer.
It is true that the Scriptures tell us that God is a generous Father who does not withhold anything from us that we need. But…God is not our supernatural vending machine. He is not what we know as Santa Claus. He does provide our needs and we are certainly instructed to bring all our requests to God, but only according to God’s will and only for His glory. The purpose of prayer is to bring our hearts into harmony with God’s heart for us and His people.
Another difference between the Lord of Christmas and our sleigh rider…Santa KEEPS lists. Two to be specific; those who are naughty and those who are nice. The Bible tells us that God does not keep lists and that we can be thankful that He doesn’t.
“If you, O LORD, were to keep lists of our iniquities, O LORD, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness…” (Psalm 130:3)
Yes, it doesn’t take a lot of mental energy to figure out that there would be only one list if God kept lists …”naughty”. The Scripture says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It also says that we can’t get off that list on our own. This is where the real Christmas supercedes the best Hollywood has to offer! The first Christmas revealed the God who came to remove our names from that list by providing the forgiveness through His Son Jesus.
What about all of those sins? What about our dirty laundry? What about the list?
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love to those who fear Him, as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10-12)
The true message of Christmas is that God doesn’t keep a list. You are forgiven. Merry Christmas!