I have wanted to write a blog post on this topic for a long time but thankfully, by God's grace He has made me wait until now because I believe in the past, my heart wasn't completely walking in love when it came to this topic.
This time of year has always been one of my favorites. I love the smells, the music, the food, the fires, time with family, the excitement, its all just fun fun fun! However, since Luke and I have made the decision to not do Santa with our kids, there has been somewhat of a dark cloud of controversy that has found its way into our season of celebration. We have found quite a few people curious about our decision, so I will use this time to try my best to explain our hearts on the matter while driving home the greater purpose for this post.
I will start by saying that our goal as parents is to point our kids to Jesus. Period. Whether that is at Christmas, Easter or your average day at the grocery store. Our hearts as believers are overcome with excitement during this Christmas season awaiting the return of our Savior. Christmas marks the date of the first fulfilled promise and now we are eagerly awaiting the second! Our hearts are overwhelmed by the astounding love our Father has over His children that He would humble himself to the greatest degree to come suffer and save a wretched sinner like me. While we were yet sinners... Man, I can't wrap this feeble mind around such a love!! We desire to share this excitement with our kids. As they eagerly await Christmas morning, we remind them that we are eagerly awaiting a day when we will be fully restored with Jesus! Although Santa is fun for a lot of families, we just don't feel there is a void of excitement around here. We are constantly fighting for our kids attention and to add Santa is just one more distraction. Frankly, "Sorry Santa we just ain't got no room for you". We don't demonize Santa, we just don't make a big deal about him. They understand he is pretend just like frosty.
Another reason and probably the biggest is our kids trust is the utmost importance to us. We want them to know that if Mom and Dad say something, it's truth. No doubt about it. These are our little disciples and the Lord has entrusted us to shepherd their hearts. I fall so short of this call so often. It's important that they see mom and dad speaking truth no matter what and walking in a constant state of confession and repentance. We will fail often but that is more opportunity to point to Jesus. It is imperative that their little hearts have a voice in this world that they know will always speak truth to them. That's our call.
Now I'm sure by this point there are some of you giving me a virtual high-five and others are ready to de-friend me on Facebook. Out of all of the decisions Luke and I have made as Christian parents, this is the one that has caused the greatest controversy. I haven't ever told anyone that they are wrong for doing Santa, but somehow by us choosing not to that is the message it sends to a lot of others. Hear me when I say, that is not my heart. I have enough struggle on my hands in following my own convictions.
This topic has become such a huge divider in the church. This is the message I want to send through this post: Whether you choose to do Santa or not, let us strive for unity in the body above all else! Jesus' command is that we love our neighbor, how can we do that when we are walking in a state of defense? That goes for both sides! As Luke and I felt the flack for our choice, my pride made it very difficult to not get defensive, but what good does that do?! What a power we would have if we all walked humbly seeking to learn from one another instead of measuring ourselves up against one another!
Believer, there is a call to follow the conviction of the Holy Spirit in your life. Encourage your brothers and sisters in this, don't be a hindrance. This season is not about you and me. It's about the hope of the gospel. The enemy will stop at nothing to divide and distract. Let us come together in love and share the excitement of the hope we have in JESUS.
Merry Christmas :)
