Santa Clause
Childlike Faith at Christmas
One of my favourite movies to watch at Christmas is “The Santa Clause 2”. I love it for a few reasons, the magic and mystery of the fantasy of Santa is one, it’s fun and entertaining and we can watch it as a family. But the biggest reason I like it is because of one scene in particular.
Spoiler alert!
The scene is where Santa is on a date with the school principal and they are heading to the school’s staff party. At this point Santa looks more like Tim Allen so no one knows who he actually is. They get to the party and it’s a disaster. Tim Allen feels bad and decides to use almost all of his magic on presents for everyone in the room.
Each present that he pulls out is specific to the adult recipient’s last Christmas wish as a child. Everyone gets the toy that they always wanted but never had when they were growing up.
Everyone is astounded at how on earth anyone could have known what they had always wanted, asking and wondering “who did this?!” but my favourite part is the absolute joy and excitement in the eyes of the adults as they become children again.
Their inner child is able to have fun, play and marvel at the amazing gift they received. I love when adults play; there is something special about putting aside our worries and enjoying ourselves, finding joy in something small and simple.
But more than anything I love seeing such an incredible image of “childlike faith” be born.
In the book of Matthew there is a story where Jesus instructs us to become like children. I think that these movies give me a glimpse of what that looks like for us.
2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:2-4
Becoming like children in our faith means:
- That we believe, just like the adults in the movie have a spark and begin to believe in magic/Santa.
- We stop worrying about what others think when we believe. Kids tell others about their belief in magic and Santa all of the time. Our believe is even better because God is real and reveals himself to us in ways we can’t ignore.
- We put aside our worries and find joy in the arms of Jesus.
As much as there is the stark contrast between Santa being a myth and Jesus being a real tangible person and risen again God, the lessons we can learn as we contrast the similarities are real! Let’s find and be reminded of the childlike faith God has put into our hearts at this time of year.