Why is Christmas so important? In the United States, we celebrate Santa or Jesus. Some of us even enjoy the traditions that celebrate both. But every year, you will find someone who will call down fire and brimstone on those who seem to forget that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” And heaven forbid if you happen to blurt our happy holidays. You have practically removed Jesus altogether. The last week of Advent has a theme of love, which is the true meaning of the Christmas season.
Gifts
Santa is all about the giving of gifts. Obstensibly, he also makes a list, and supposedly, only the good boys and girls get any gifts. However, I believe that to be very inaccurate. I have seen some children who belonged permanently on the naughty list have many gifts given to them. Because at the end of the day, or in this case, the night, Santa may be a useful threat for behavior modification. However, gifts are not earned.
Children don’t usually struggle with this concept. Getting gifts is great fun. A child would love more, better, or unlimited gifts, please. They receive gifts with grace and guileless innocence. Adults, on the other hand, often struggle in the gift-receiving arena. Think about the last gift you received. Did you want to tell the person who gave it to you that it was too much? They shouldn’t have. Did you assure them that you would return the favor immediately? All too often, adults count the cost of the gift. And most of us feel undeserving.
Extravagance
Adults are often uncomfortable with giving gifts. Parents are told not to spoil their children. And as mentioned above, giving and receiving gifts to adults can be a minefield of reciprocity. But not so when we do it under the guise of Santa. Look, boys and girls, Santa snuck in last night and left all these gifts. Or, in an office, we trade Secret Santa gifts without feeling that we will owe or be owed something. Santa can go wildly overboard in giving gifts. He doesn’t do anything else! He waits and prepares to fill the world with joy all year through gift-giving. And Santa knows a secret. No, not what all the good and bad children did. He knows that being the giver of the gift can be just as thrilling as being a receiver.
The hidden message behind giving gifts is love. Money, time, mental power, creative energy, and more were spent to get you this gift. Children rarely see it, and adults cannot escape it. Giving a meaningful gift is costly. So when God wanted to give us His greatest gift, He sent His one and only son.
Why would He send a gift at all? John 3:16 reminds us that the reason was love. God loved the world, so He sent it a gift. But God’s love is extravagant and overabundant. John later reminds his friends that God loves us so much that He welcomed us into His family. He didn’t just send His son to rebuild the relationship. He sent His son to kick off the adoption process. His love was so great that He welcomed us into His family. And it had nothing to do with us being good little girls and boys.
Undeserving
Can you love me? You wouldn’t if you knew all the wrong thoughts, words, and actions that sum up my darker moments. Everyone is going to make mistakes. Everyone is going to fail at something. We all have bad days and say things we wish we never did. And we wonder if anyone can love our messy selves. We certainly don’t feel deserving of love. But you are loved. And you need to hear that confirmed again and again. Children need to hear, over and over, the fact that they are loved. Spouses, friends, and family need the same reassurance. People spend so much time convincing themselves and others that they can be loved.
The bad news is you are right; you don’t deserve love. But love isn’t earned. Love is a gift. One that God offered before you could ever try to earn it. The Apostle Paul explained that while we were still enemies of God, God chose to reconcile our relationship. God loved first. And there is nothing you can do to make God love you more. But you can also do nothing to make God love you less. It is a gift. And gifts are meant to be accepted. Jesus’ birth and life were declarations of God’s extravagant, abundant love. No amount of deeds, offerings, or sacrifices can earn that love. We can’t earn that love, but we can choose how we respond to such love. And how we respond will determine how we order our lives.
Santa or Jesus
Hopefully, by now, you figured out this was not a hit piece with a hot take on how Santa ruined the real reason for Christmas. I think that Santa’s gift-giving directly reflects the way God gifts. Spreading love to family, friends, and coworkers through giving gifts is an unconscious imitation of God, the giver of good gifts. You can remove the name of Jesus from your celebration, but the love that persists throughout will reflect who God is. Where there is love, God’s kingdom is not very far away.
As the season of Advent comes to a close, may you see how God is revealed throughout each part of the journey. The story of Jesus’ birth reminds us to hope, have peace, find joy, and love extravagantly. The challenge for 2024 is to make these gifts evident and abundant each hour, day, week, and month. And remember, you are loved abundantly. You don’t deserve it, but that is the good news.
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