Isaiah 55:8-11
This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.
As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
You’ve probably heard of “Elf on a Shelf”…the phenomenon that started a few years ago with a toy elf and a rhyming story about how he watches over children by day, then flies home to the North Pole to report to Santa each night. Each child names their elf, which gives him his “magic” and the ability to fly back and forth between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. If the child touches the elf, he loses his “magic” and cannot fly any more…at least for a few days.
Children have a unique and innocent way of accepting such things. To them, the elf and his antics are real…and the fact that he can talk to Santa is hardly questioned for several years. This usually happens when an older child begins to plant seeds of doubt and suggest that Santa doesn’t truly exist - and the elf doesn’t actually have magical powers. I’m noticing that children often seem to do a better job than many adults do at accepting that God is real. They readily hear the Bible stories and take them to heart. They eagerly acknowledge that Jesus is who the Bible says He is…and that He came to earth and did all of the things the scriptures tell us that He did - until someone starts to plant doubts about this, as well.
This is a season of believing in the “magic” of Christmas, Santa Claus and elves. More importantly, this is a time to bolster our confidence in the belief that Jesus Christ is real…that He truly did come to earth as a tiny baby and grow into a man who was called “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) This is the time when we reaffirm our belief that God sent Jesus to teach us His ways…and to die for our sins. And the Christmas season is a wonderful time to share His message with the world.
The power of God trumps the “magical powers” of an elf and Santa Claus any day. With balance and care, there is room in our lives for both. Do YOU believe?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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