Advent - the Gift DevotionalSample

“Make Christmas about Jesus, not Santa”

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

Ah, Christmas! The time of year we celebrate the birth of Santa. Oops, I mean, Jesus! Those two have so much in common, sometimes people get them confused!

We usually think of them as both having beards, and being surrounded by happy little children, scurrying about. They both have quite an uncommon last name that starts with ‘C’. And what’s with all the nicknames? They both have a ton of nicknames, like ‘Father Christmas’, ‘Prince of Peace’, ‘St. Nicholas’, ‘Emmanuel’, and so on...

I hear they both like to keep detailed records on all of us. But, they both seem like pretty generous guys, which is probably why we flood both of them with wish lists.

In the end, I keep going back to Santa’s naughty-or-nice distinction. If we’re being totally honest, we’ll probably find ourselves hoping Santa isn’t too strict, so that we’ll get lots of gifts. Ultimately, Santa is about me, and the stuff I so desperately want.

Jesus, on the other hand, came because none of us are nice enough. And Jesus is about something more – the grace you and I so desperately need. Come to think of it, maybe Jesus and Santa don’t have that much in common after all!