SANTA!! I KNOW HIM!!!

This is going to sound dumb, because most of you (the 3 people who read this) are going be “Duh, Theresa…where have you been?”, but I’m going to take my chances anyways…Santa Claus seems to overtake the real reason for Christmas and has for years, yes we all know this. But this year I’ve really noticed how much he seems to be compared to God. I was watching a movie the other night, and one of the kids said that he was omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time: the omnipresent God-dictionary.com). And there have been other things…small things I suppose to someone who doesn’t really pay attention (case in point, myself over the last few years). I’m not sure why, but we cling to Santa almost. We ask him for the desires of our heart…and it starts when we’re kids. I can remember making my Christmas lists in July when I was kid. As kids we can’t seem to contain the excitement of seeing him in the mall or knowing that he’s been in our house to leave us gifts. To see if he really listened and brought us what we really wanted the most. We would talk about him all the time and people would ask what we asked Santa to bring. As I realized this, I noticed how that’s what God wants from us. He wants us to cling to Him, to ask Him for the desires of our heart, to be excited about Him. To seek Him out…like a child. But I also realized, that I treat God like Santa in the since that I just give Him my list of “wants” and never really pay attention to Him. Like the Genie in a Bottle Syndrome, Vending Machine in the Sky mentality…whatever…I abuse His power and authority and the fact that my Daddy is the owner of this world. Then I throw a fit when He doesn’t give in to my wishes. God is SO much better than Santa! He doesn’t just come around once a year…He never leaves us. He doesn’t have to ask our name or if we’ve been good or bad, because He knows. He doesn’t just give us what we think we want; He gives us what we truly need. HE is omnipresent…and I really have a hard time believing He’s fat and has a white beard…and…He’s real.