Fantasy or Faith? Which Is Your Christmas?
A Sonnet to the Savior, not the Santa or the Sentiment
by J. Roger Wilson, ©December 2006
Who gives the greatest Christmas hope, a babe or bearded man?
Have songs and stories of St. Nick o’ershadowed God’s own Son?
Of one we hear we’d best watch out or lose the gifts we plan.
It’s just a Child, though angels sang—not much, the other one.
Satisfied by Christmas treats? He is the Bread of Life!
Though reindeer fly in Christmas tales; He is the Shepherd Great.
How often lights make winters bright, while He’s the world’s Light.
It’s toys and elves at Santa’s home, but Christ is heaven’s Gate.
Some Grinch might steal our fun away, but Jesus died to save!
Could any toy, that soon will break, e’er match the Truth, the Way?
Holly, ivy, Christmas trees will die; the Vine will last.
Indeed, Saint Nicholas will kneel before “I Am” one day.
Love Himself has come to earth, by birth, to give by grace.
Don’t trust a lovely fantasy; He’s God of time and space.
As I reflected on the barrage of so-called Christmas movies and TV shows and how the secular fantasies have taken over the season, Jesus statements, recorded in John’s Gospel came to mind. I actually had an idea for something longer, but it was not happening, this year! A generous churchman, St. Nicholas, evolved into Clement Moore’s “jolly old elf,” and the mythology has grown. I personally enjoy Tim Allen’s “Santa Clause” series although I haven’t seen the third installment yet. All of that is mere fantasy, fun for children and even for adults, sometimes, but fantasy!
In addition to all of that, we get pathetic inspirational pieces that try to find the “real meaning” of Christmas but without any reference whatever to truth, Scripture, or God. Real meaning, indeed!
No fantasy or inspirational story comes close to the amazing truth that God arranged to take on human flesh, be born as a baby, live sinlessly among the rest of us humans, and then die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. The birth story, itself, is filled with all the makings of a great story—humble parents, difficult journey, evil king, poor shepherds, and rich wise men.
Of course, secular entertainment is just one part of the campaign to steal Christmas. The real “Grinches” want far more than the gifts; they want to steal the truth and replace it with less than a pale reflection. Even “Merry Christmas” is too much for them! We face more than a personal choice in what we will believe; we face a choice as to what we will do! Will we let them turn Christmas into some silly winter celebration, growing bigger, brighter, and more commercial, every year, yet robbed of every glimmer of its origins and importance to us who love and revere the Christ of Christmas? Will we silently accept their version of Christmas and their efforts to silence the truth? I hope not, for the hope of Christmas is the answer for the emptiness inside their secular alternative.
Merry Christmas!
by J. Roger Wilson, ©December 2006
Who gives the greatest Christmas hope, a babe or bearded man?
Have songs and stories of St. Nick o’ershadowed God’s own Son?
Of one we hear we’d best watch out or lose the gifts we plan.
It’s just a Child, though angels sang—not much, the other one.
Satisfied by Christmas treats? He is the Bread of Life!
Though reindeer fly in Christmas tales; He is the Shepherd Great.
How often lights make winters bright, while He’s the world’s Light.
It’s toys and elves at Santa’s home, but Christ is heaven’s Gate.
Some Grinch might steal our fun away, but Jesus died to save!
Could any toy, that soon will break, e’er match the Truth, the Way?
Holly, ivy, Christmas trees will die; the Vine will last.
Indeed, Saint Nicholas will kneel before “I Am” one day.
Love Himself has come to earth, by birth, to give by grace.
Don’t trust a lovely fantasy; He’s God of time and space.
As I reflected on the barrage of so-called Christmas movies and TV shows and how the secular fantasies have taken over the season, Jesus statements, recorded in John’s Gospel came to mind. I actually had an idea for something longer, but it was not happening, this year! A generous churchman, St. Nicholas, evolved into Clement Moore’s “jolly old elf,” and the mythology has grown. I personally enjoy Tim Allen’s “Santa Clause” series although I haven’t seen the third installment yet. All of that is mere fantasy, fun for children and even for adults, sometimes, but fantasy!
In addition to all of that, we get pathetic inspirational pieces that try to find the “real meaning” of Christmas but without any reference whatever to truth, Scripture, or God. Real meaning, indeed!
No fantasy or inspirational story comes close to the amazing truth that God arranged to take on human flesh, be born as a baby, live sinlessly among the rest of us humans, and then die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. The birth story, itself, is filled with all the makings of a great story—humble parents, difficult journey, evil king, poor shepherds, and rich wise men.
Of course, secular entertainment is just one part of the campaign to steal Christmas. The real “Grinches” want far more than the gifts; they want to steal the truth and replace it with less than a pale reflection. Even “Merry Christmas” is too much for them! We face more than a personal choice in what we will believe; we face a choice as to what we will do! Will we let them turn Christmas into some silly winter celebration, growing bigger, brighter, and more commercial, every year, yet robbed of every glimmer of its origins and importance to us who love and revere the Christ of Christmas? Will we silently accept their version of Christmas and their efforts to silence the truth? I hope not, for the hope of Christmas is the answer for the emptiness inside their secular alternative.
Merry Christmas!
Comments