Isaiah 8:13
I am the one you should fear and respect. I am the holy God, the Lord All-Powerful!
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
When
I was a child…and even when my parents were children…there was a man
who lived in our county who was known as “Preacher Mullens.” This
gentle man was a traveling preacher…and at Christmas time, he dressed up
as Santa Claus and came to area schools to pass out candy canes. He
drove a red Jeep with REAL “reindeer” on the front…actually a mounted deer (or were there two?). Okay, so it wouldn’t be so politically correct today…but I
remember petting the deer and thinking it was the greatest thing
ever. And even though I knew that “Santa” was really Preacher Mullens,
he truly represented Santa to me…the only Santa of my childhood.
My
first year to teach, Preacher Mullens came to visit our school, and I
have a photo of him passing out candy canes to my first graders. That
was in 1977, and I think this was one of the last years that Mr. Mullens
did this. Today, at Timothy’s first grade Christmas party, a childhood
friend of mine who makes a truly fine Santa Claus visited the
classrooms and wished the children a Merry Christmas. I told him, “You
are carrying the torch for Preacher Mullens.” He quickly raised his
hands and said, “Oh, NO! There is no way!” He did not feel worthy to
be compared to this man who is so revered in our community as something
of a childhood folk hero. In my friend’s mind, there is only ONE
“Preacher Mullens”…and he cannot be replicated.
I’m here to
assure you that there is only ONE Jesus Christ…only ONE Lord and Savior.
There will be some pretty good people who come along in our lifetime –
and in the generations to come. There will be some fine folks who do
their best to love God and serve Him completely. And there will be some
amazing spiritual leaders who can help us understand scripture, guide us
in ministry, and assist us in accomplishing fantastic things in the
name of the LORD. But there will only ever be ONE God…and He only sent
ONE Son to save us.
So before we go singing the praises of each
other – or this evangelist or that minister or author… and giving too
much credit to a mere human, let’s get it straight. Let’s remember who
is the Lord All-Powerful…and let’s give HIM our utmost “fear” and
respect. In this season when we celebrate all sorts of things –
including Santa Claus and his reindeer…let’s remember Who we are really
supposed to be honoring. We need to remember to make Jesus the center
of attention and keep our perspective…and then we need to keep this up
all throughout the year.
I have such fond memories of Preacher
Mullens and all of the good he did for people in my part of the
state…and he did this throughout the year – not just at Christmas time.
There is a place in my “Christmas memories” for this magnificent man
and happy thoughts of the Santa Claus that he portrayed. But I must
make certain that I prioritize carefully – and that I don’t place Santa
Claus ahead of Jesus…in this season or any other time of the year. I am
determined to do this…what about you?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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