Santa Claus? or God?
So we're into the Christmas season officially now that we're past Thanksgiving. One thing that always strikes me as odd this time of year is how many people seem to have confused God with Santa Claus.
In a way, I guess I can understand the confusion. The famous editorial "Yes, Virginia, There I a Santa Claus" reads pretty much the same if you substitute "God" for "Santa Claus". (Except the part about the fairies. I never did get that part anyway.) Neither God nor Santa Claus can claim to be readily available for interviews on CNN.
Still, it's amazing to me how much confusion there is. For example, some say God is a man with a long white beard.
That's Santa Claus.
I've never heard of anyone saying that God lives at the North Pole and wears a red coat, but if they do, well, now you know.
Some say that God has a special affinity for little people, that God somehow treats children better than adults. Again, that's Santa Claus.
(The guy even hires "little people" to work in his toy shop.) The God of the Bible has a special affinity for the lost, the lonely, the poor, the forgotten, and the dead to this world. That's adults and children, the widow (a grown-up) and the orphan (perhaps a child).
Some say that God separates the world into "sinners" who are naughty, and "saints" who are nice, and that God rewards the nice with lots of neat things, and punishes the naughty with punishment. Again:
. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was meant precisely for the naughty. Nothing in the Bible says that "niceness is next to godliness."
Some say that God is a nice person ("nice" again) who gives you pretty much whatever you want if you ask for it. And that's Santa Claus too.
The real God, the God who is not Santa Claus, loves you more than anything you can ever know. Santa Claus has never made a sacrifice for you (except for one really busy night of work once a year), but God has and that sacrifice is far greater than anything Santa Claus ever could offer.
God watches you, yes, but not from the North Pole, but from the eyes of your parents, your siblings, your friends, from the eyes of that weird kid who can never seem to make any friends, and those of the man asking for food on the sidewalk.
God does not just expect you to be "nice", but to be human. Actually human. Not a "consumer unit," not a "potential" human, and not an Ebenezer Scrooge who cares more about his own benefit than that of God's poor, but a real human.
God does not write out a list of people to punish, but a list of people to help, and we're all on that list. And while Santa's list is top secret, never released before Christmas morning, God will let anyone read the list of those who need love or care or food or clothing. Just open your eyes. Maybe even start by looking for your own name. Also, God uses us to get those people the help they need.
God doesn't work for you. God serves you as an independent, perfectly free being. God loves you as no one else can, completely from God's joy in you.
Oh, and while Santa shows up at lots of Christmas parties, I don't think he ever throws one. (Well, there was the party in Polar Express, but that was just for the elves and few select guests.) God, on the other hand, throws one blockbuster of a party, a party where people come from east and west and north and south (even the North Pole) and gather together to share and enjoy the love which God gives us. Wal-Mart, Target, and Niemann Marcus have nothing on that!
In a way, I guess I can understand the confusion. The famous editorial "Yes, Virginia, There I a Santa Claus" reads pretty much the same if you substitute "God" for "Santa Claus". (Except the part about the fairies. I never did get that part anyway.) Neither God nor Santa Claus can claim to be readily available for interviews on CNN.
Still, it's amazing to me how much confusion there is. For example, some say God is a man with a long white beard.
That's Santa Claus.
I've never heard of anyone saying that God lives at the North Pole and wears a red coat, but if they do, well, now you know.Some say that God has a special affinity for little people, that God somehow treats children better than adults. Again, that's Santa Claus.
(The guy even hires "little people" to work in his toy shop.) The God of the Bible has a special affinity for the lost, the lonely, the poor, the forgotten, and the dead to this world. That's adults and children, the widow (a grown-up) and the orphan (perhaps a child).Some say that God separates the world into "sinners" who are naughty, and "saints" who are nice, and that God rewards the nice with lots of neat things, and punishes the naughty with punishment. Again:
. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was meant precisely for the naughty. Nothing in the Bible says that "niceness is next to godliness."Some say that God is a nice person ("nice" again) who gives you pretty much whatever you want if you ask for it. And that's Santa Claus too.
The real God, the God who is not Santa Claus, loves you more than anything you can ever know. Santa Claus has never made a sacrifice for you (except for one really busy night of work once a year), but God has and that sacrifice is far greater than anything Santa Claus ever could offer.
God watches you, yes, but not from the North Pole, but from the eyes of your parents, your siblings, your friends, from the eyes of that weird kid who can never seem to make any friends, and those of the man asking for food on the sidewalk.
God does not just expect you to be "nice", but to be human. Actually human. Not a "consumer unit," not a "potential" human, and not an Ebenezer Scrooge who cares more about his own benefit than that of God's poor, but a real human.
God does not write out a list of people to punish, but a list of people to help, and we're all on that list. And while Santa's list is top secret, never released before Christmas morning, God will let anyone read the list of those who need love or care or food or clothing. Just open your eyes. Maybe even start by looking for your own name. Also, God uses us to get those people the help they need.
God doesn't work for you. God serves you as an independent, perfectly free being. God loves you as no one else can, completely from God's joy in you.
Oh, and while Santa shows up at lots of Christmas parties, I don't think he ever throws one. (Well, there was the party in Polar Express, but that was just for the elves and few select guests.) God, on the other hand, throws one blockbuster of a party, a party where people come from east and west and north and south (even the North Pole) and gather together to share and enjoy the love which God gives us. Wal-Mart, Target, and Niemann Marcus have nothing on that!
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