Leading up to this time of year, world-wide, children and adults alike express a belief in Santa Claus. ‘If you’re good enough, then he’ll leave something for you under the tree’, is what we’re told from a young age. We
have put so much trust and devotion into ‘being good’, so that we won’t be disappointed come Christmas morning. However, as we grow older, we lose that desire to trust and believe in Jolly ‘ole St. Nick. In the 2004 movie, The Polar Express, a boy is whisked away on a magical train all the way up to the North Pole. All throughout the movie, he is skeptical of the fact that Santa even exists and at the end {SPOILER ALERT} he meets the Santa and is even given a silver bell that comes off of the Santa’s sleigh. Before meeting Santa, the boy repeats these words several times out loud, “I believe…I believe…I BELIEVE!”. After so much skepticism, this boy comes away with so much faith, or belief, in someone he had only heard stories about. There’s a song we sang this morning in worship called Bethlehem, Galilee, Gethsemane, and the lyrics go as such.
“Bethlehem, He was born there, I believe, I believe.
Galilee, Jesus walked there, I believe, I believe.
Gethsemane, my Savior prayed there, on Calvary, He died alone
But the tomb, He left there, I believe, I believe…”
As much as we believe in the physical things in this life, no matter what they are, they will not take us or give us as much fulfillment as our belief in Christ. Belief in Christ, means that we believe in truth (which He is…2nd Thessalonians 2:13).
Belief in Christ is not something you can proclaim only when it suits you, when it’s most convenient or when everyone else is doing it. Belief has to be genuine, from the heart and intentional. He was born, walked His earth and died for us to allow everyone of us access to the greatest gift we could ever have. I believe that He gave up everything for me, and I try everyday to live and show that to those around me.
-Do we believe the stories and historical events that we grew up hearing about from our parents and grandparents as they read from God’s word?
-Do we believe in the God that we know sent His Son to die for our sins, so that we would be able to be with Him one day?
-Do we proclaim our belief in God as much as we encourage our children to believe in a magical being that rewards kids for being good one time a year?
Who has more of your belief and trust? Christ or the things of this world?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY-G5eHYGSc
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28