Isaiah 7:14 (New International Version)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
This is a wonderful story of a Christmas Eve dream of
Santa as he is known today and Jesus who is the Reason for the Season we
celebrate each year.
By the use of carefully chosen symbols in the dream a
wonderful picture emerges which points us not to Santa who is himself a fantasy
but to Jesus, the promised one, the savior of the world.
Late one Christmas Eve I sank back, tired but content,
into my easy chair. The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and
cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa. As I sat back admiring the tree with
its decorations, I couldn't help feeling that something was missing. It wasn't
long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me to sleep. I don't know how
long I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn't alone.
I opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I
saw Santa Claus himself, standing next to my Christmas tree. He was dressed all
in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him. But he was not
the "jolly old elf" of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me
looked sad and
disappointed. And there were tears in his eyes. "Santa,
what's wrong?" I asked. "Why are you crying?" "It's the
children," Santa replied sadly. "But the children love you," I
said. "Oh, I know they love me and the gifts I bring them," Santa
said.
"But the children of today seem to have somehow
missed out on the true spirit of Christmas...and it's not their fault! It's
just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have
forgotten to teach the children."
"Teach them what?" I asked.
Santa's kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes
began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly.
"Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas.
Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear,
and touch is much more than meets the eye.
Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and
traditions of Christmas we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly
represent."
Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny
Christmas tree and set it on my mantle." Teach them about the Christmas
tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen with its
unchanging color represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. It's needles
point heavenward as a reminder that man's thoughts should turn heavenward as
well."
Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny
star and placed it at the top of the small tree. "The star was the
heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was
the sign of the fulfillment of that promise of the night that Jesus Christ was
born. Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises and that wise
men still seek Him."
"Red," said Santa, "is the first color of
Christmas."
He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree.
"Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life-giving blood
that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God's greatest gift. Teach
the children that Christ gave His life and shed His blood for them that they
might have eternal life. When they see the color red it should remind them of
that most wonderful gift."
Santa found a bell in his pack and placed it on the tree.
"Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell; it
continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to
follow the true Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep." Santa placed a
candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame
brightened the room. "The glow of the candle represents how man can show
his thanks for the gift of God's son who was born that Christmas Eve long ago.
Teach the children to follow in Christ's footsteps, to go about doing good.
Teach them to let their lights shine before men that all may see it and glorify
God. This is what is symbolized when the twinkly lights shine on the tree like
hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God's
precious children, their light shining for all to see."
Again, Santa reached into his bag and this time he
brought forth a shiny red and white striped candy cane. As he hung it on the
tree, he spoke softly, "The candy cane is a stick of hard, white candy.
White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus and the shape
'J' to represent the precious name of Jesus who came to earth as our Savior. It
also represents the crook the Good Shepherd uses to reach down into the ditches
of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.
The original candy cane had three small red stripes which are the stripes of
the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe
that represents the shed blood of Jesus so that we can have eternal life.
Teach these things to the children."
Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh,
fragrant greenery and tied with a bright red bow. "The bow reminds us of
the bond of perfection which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things
about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It
contains the colors of red and green and the heaven-turned needles of the
evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all; and its color
again reminds us of Christ's sacrifice. Even its very shape is symbolic,
representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ's love. It is a circle
without beginning and without end. These are the things you must teach the
children."
"But where does that leave you Santa?" I asked.
The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over
Santa's face.
"Why, bless you my dear," he laughed. "I'm
only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of
giving and receiving. If the children are taught these other things, there is
no danger that I'll ever be forgotten."
If we don't teach the children these things......who will?"
Dear Lord we thank You for the wonderful gift at Christmas
that we celebrate. We pray that we would always remember to share our gift with
others so they too can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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