On Growing Up

 "If you can't accept anything on faith,

 then you are doomed to a life dominated by doubt"

- Santa Claus (Richard Atttenborough) in Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Where are you Christmas? (Faith Hill from The Grinch)
http://youtu.be/qR2WYVWI65M

      One of the great disappointments of life is "outgrowing" Christmas. I don't mean the real reason that we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. I mean the Santa Claus excitement part of Christmas. It comes on at just about the age of Cindy Lou Who in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". At some point in life, we have to face the reality that Santa Claus is a mythological figure. I remember how sad and disppointed I was when the reality of this set in. I struggled a little to find the real purpose of why the myth even existed. Was everyone just lying? As I thought about it, I came to realize and believe that there truly is a "Santa Claus".

    To believe in Santa Claus is to believe that we have the ability to overcome our own selfish tendencies and think of the needs of others more than ourselves. Isn't that one of the reasons for gift giving at Christmas? Isn't that what Santa Claus represents, unselfish and unconditional love? And why did the Wise Men bring Jesus such rare gifts? Most scholars agree that the gifts were symbolic. The gold symbolized Jesus’s kingship, frankincense His divinity, and myrrh His suffering and death, since myrrh was a substance used to perfume dead bodies before burial. ^{8  ("We Three Kings" by Wendy Kenney, New Era, December 2009).}And, what about the life and death of Jesus Christ? He gave each of us the gift of the example of the unselfish life He lived, and the unconditional love that He gave to us when He took our sins upon Him and gave His life so that we could be saved and live again?

  I remember that Christmas so many years ago when I found out the reality about Santa Claus. I remember the paradigm shift that took place inside of me as I adjusted my reasoning that Christmas was really about the birth of Christ. I remember the reverent and warm feelings that came into my heart as I sat staring at the nativity set in my mother's living room, thinking about The Christmas Story. The realization that this was what Christmas was really all about hit me. The presents were nice and fun to give and to receive. But, like in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", even if there were no presents there would still be Christmas because Christmas is more than just "ribbons, boxes and bows".

   Many people choose to think that the stories of Jesus Christ in the Bible and other scriptures are just that, stories. Many just see him as a great prophet or a good person. But the birth of that baby in Bethlehem so long ago was sooo much more than that. The birth of that child changed everything, it changed the world. It changed how I look at the world, and it changed my hopes for a better world to come.  It changed how I choose to live my life in this world and how I hope others choose to live theirs.

     As our own children came along, we chose to carry on the myth of Santa Claus, often teasing them that if they stopped believing then he stopped delivering presents. But, along with Santa we chose to emphasize the real reason for the season, to impress upon our children the birth, life and mission of Jesus Christ. We knew that some day they too would have to face the reality that Santa Claus is a myth. They, too, would have to decide that Jesus Christ is real and that His birth story is the real reason for the season. Jesus Christ is a living part of what we choose to believe and what we choose to become as we live our lives in His way each day. As "Jesus saith unto him, I am the ^away, the ^btruth, and the life: no man ^ccometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 15:6).

     "We love Him, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19). "When there is love in your heart and your mind, you will feel like Christmas all the time" (Where are you Christmas? - Faith Hill)

A Baby Changes Everything
http://youtu.be/NMj084Ggwww