True Grace and Truth
The Truth
Some will say “Santa is a lie!” Others will say that it is “only pretending…get over it!” What is the balance for Gospel-centered parents? Although it is hard and I’ve struggled since having children on how to handle all of the Santa-hype surrounding Christmas, I know that whatever I teach them about Santa will NOT be what I teach my children about Jesus.
I’ve read a few article here and there. An article I read recently was amazing. I thought the article from Gospel Center Mom is a great explanation of what my husband and I have decided to do with Santa Clause. One of her reasons for not even “pretending” that Santa is real is that it will threaten whether children will believe stories from the Bible. In John 1:14-18 we read: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
How was Jesus described by John the Baptist? “Full of grace and truth.” Truth. Jesus says in John 14:6 that Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is truth. All that He does is true. All that He said is true. All the miracles are not for “show” or “magic.” Jesus didn’t do magic. He did miracles. Santa is full of magic and I do not want to confuse my children. I want to show that we do not believe in magic – but we believe in miracles. We believe that God is the one who is full of truth, not Santa.
The world cannot offer my children truth. I want to teach them that truth is found in Jesus, the very Word of God. Teaching my children things that are true will lead to teaching them about Jesus – the one full of truth. Christmas does not have to get rid of all that is pretending. Imagination is played out in sword fights, horsey rides, and twirling princesses in my house all day long. During Christmastime (and all year long) I want to keep whispering truth into their ears. I do not want to hide or shy away from all of the pretending during the Christmas season. We watched Frosty the Snowman the other day on TV. My children love to talk about talking snowmen, reindeer that fly, and men with red suits climbing down chimneys. We hung our stockings the other day (adding a fourth one for our sweet Liana!). My children can pretend, but in the end they know it isn’t real. Make-believe is not something I need to teach my little ones….but truth is.
The truth about Christmas:
God’s love is poured out on all of us.
God’s Son was born in a humble stable.
God’s Light shone in the darkness.
God’s Word spoke to us and gives us life.
Those are the Truth of Christmas I want my children to leave their childhood with.
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Check out my other posts in this year’s Christmas series:
The True Word & The True Light
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