Santa Clause versus God

Good morning! I'm back with todays writing prompt: Santa Clause versus God. The title may have caught your attention (as it did mine, lol). Let's take a look at the full promt! >>

"Young children often mix up Santa Claus and God around Christmas time because they share some qualities.Yes, you read that right. Santa Claus and God have some features in common, yet they are vastly different in other areas.When comparing and contrasting two people or items, it is sometimes helpful to make lists of similarities and differences or make charts of the features of the two things being compared. Write one or two paragraphs comparing and contrasting Santa Claus to God. You'll want to compare and contrast the features or traits of Santa and God. The first half of the paragraph will be about Santa Claus. The second half will be about God (or the other way around). Write a transition sentence between the two topics to lead your reader from Santa Claus to God." (Sharon Watson writing prompts)

Santa knows a lot based on a popular Christmas song, "he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. [and} He knows when you've been bad or good...'. He's also generally believed in by children, keeps a list of naughty and nice, and he also has special helpers (elves). A common Christmas tradition in many homes around the world is the little michevous "Elf on the Self" that watches kids to make sure they're 'good' and reports back to Santa Clause.

As you may have already noticed, God is similar of these in many of these ways, but in a much different, grander sense. We know that God is All-knowing (omnipotent). Job 34:21 says, "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps." Even in Matthew we are told that God has numbered the hairs on our head! He knows our thoughts, motives, heart's desires. He knows what we're going to think BEFORE we even think it! Similar to Santa's "naughty and nice list", God has a "Lamb's Book of Life". Revelation 13:8 says, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." And last but not least, God has angles that dwell with Him in Heaven. gotquestions.org says:

"Angels are spirit beings without true physical bodies. Although they do not have physical bodies, they are still personalities. Because they are created beings, their knowledge is limited. This means they do not know all things as God does (Matthew 24:36). They do seem to have greater knowledge than humans, however, which may be due to three things. First, angels were created as an order of creatures higher than humans. Therefore, they innately possess greater knowledge. Second, angels study the Bible and the world more thoroughly than humans do and gain knowledge from it (James 2:19; Revelation 12:12). Third, angels gain knowledge through long observation of human activities. Unlike humans, angels do not have to study the past; they have experienced it. Therefore, they know how others have acted and reacted in situations and can predict with a greater degree of accuracy how we may act in similar circumstances.

Though when we really think about it, God is much, much different from Santa. Santa is not "all-knowing", he only knows what he can physically see. God, as we read in Job, knows literally EVERYTHING. From our thoughts and desires to the hairs on our head. Much diffferent from Santa. God, as we read in Revelation, keeps a book called the 'Lambs Book of Life'. This book is a 'record' (for lack of better term) of all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And, no matter what, your name cannot be erased from this book. On the flip side, Santa's naughty and nice list is literally a record of people's wrongs. Santa watches you and when you mess up, too bad for you, you're going on the naughty list. When we put our faith and trust in Christ, God no longer holds our sins against us!! This is INCREDIBLE news for any one who sins...so that means everyone! It doesn't matter what you've ever done, God still forgives you. By repenting of your sins (repentance >> confessing, asking for forgiveness, and TURNING away from that sin), and placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ (and making Christ the foundation of your life), God forgives you and completely forgets your offenses. Your record is wiped clean and now, when God looks at you, He doesn't see the millions of times you've screwed up, He sees the image of His Son. This doesn't mean we'll be perfect people, but through the reading and studying of God's Word and making Christ the foundation of our lives, our heart, mind, and motives are being molded more and more to the image of Christ. And the best part is, we don't have to earn it. This is all possible becuase of Christ's love for us, not anything we can do or have done. There's nothing we can do to earn God's love, and nothing that could ever set us apart from His grace. THIS. is Good News. Next, Santa's elves are so different from angels. First, angels are God-created, spiritual beings who are so much wiser and smarter than humans. gotquestions.org says.

There is no doubt that good angels help protect (Daniel 6:20-23; 2 Kings 6:13-17), reveal information (Acts 7:52-53; Luke 1:11-20), guide (Matthew 1:20-21; Acts 8:26), provide for (Genesis 21:17-20; 1 Kings 19:5-7), and minister to believers in general (Hebrews 1:14).

(By the way, I use gotquestions.org for just about any question I have about God, the Bible, theology...etc. It's a great source to use for questions you may have about Biblical topics!)

Elves, as we know, are michevous people who spy on kids then report back to the big guy in the red suit. Then they build toys for the ones who made it on the nice list.

In conclusion, God is so different from Santa Clause. God is a loving Father who provided a Way to save His children. In contrast, Santa is a fun, jolly, old dude who keeps a record of the 'nice and naughty' and rewards those who are 'good'. I'm not "anti-Santa", I personally enjoyed the fun of asking Santa for presents and being excited to recieve gifts from him. But now that I'm older I now have the desires to study and learn about a new Being with a much greater Gift that literally has changed my life!! If you have any questions about this God (who is SO much cooler than Santa), please contact me using the "Contact Me!" box on the 'home page'. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this post :) God bless and much love,

Summer Gabrille