Most of my friends are of other Faiths, and most of my coworkers, since they are scientists, are men of measurements. Consequently, they find it odd, archaic, and foolish that I believe in God and try to live according to His commandments. Having read earlier this month a list of the top 10 Christmas movies, I persuaded my parents to watch The Santa Clause. I know that my pagan and agnostic friends tolerate Christmas because of the gifts or because we "coopted" their solstace, but Santa is a great ensign for and symbol of Christ. I know that most of the people I know no longer believe in miracles, in magic, in God, in faith, and in hope. Sure, they believe in "the think system" and "the power of positive thinking", but all too often they don't believe it until and unless they see it work. Well, that's not faith or belief; when you see a thing, you know it. I have never seen Santa, but I have seen what He does. I have spent a great portion of my life acting on and exemplifying God's will in order to be part of His miracles. I have seen magical things happen, mostly for others, and I know that something, someone else made this happen. I believe in Santa. I believe in Christ.
Kids don't need to see the workshop to know it's there. Far too many adults, particularly scientists, insist on seeing something in order to believe in it, which is funny since there are things we can't actually see like quarks and black holes, but we know they exist because we feel and see their influence. Those same people who can't see their own brains, their own DNA, etc., see God's influence and then either explain it away or unjustly ascribe it to something else. Have you ever seen a reindeer fly? Have you ever actually been to China? How do you know these things? Because people you trust told you that they are so. I have never seen God, but I have seen things He promise happen. I have spoken with people I trust and read the testimonies of men I trust who are long dead who went to their graves believing in God, and so I believe it. I don't have to meet a prophet or see a miracle or touch the wounds in Christ's palms to know that He exists. I feel it. I believe in God as I believe in the noonday sun- not that I see it but that by it I see everything. I know it's hard to believe in magic, in miracles, in a God. I keep wondering when, or if, He will decide to grant me the desires of my heart. I hope He still will, but if not, that will not lead me to dismiss God. Unlike Judge Reinhold, I'm not willing to surrender that over something as tawdry as a wienie whistle. It is actually childish to dismiss God when He doesn't do what you like.
Careful attention to the fine print tells us the terms and conditions of faith. Tim Allen is obligated to act in the capacity of Santa Claus when he puts on the suit, and in subsequent installments he spends time meeting the other terms. However, there is a reward for this effort, and as the movie proceeds, he gains much in return for his sacrifices. He gains insight into the lives of other people and knows who is "naughty or nice"; similarly, we gain an ability by following and learning about God to discern between wise and otherwise, truth and error, and pain and joy. He spends his time bringing joy to children, in particular his own. Likewise, God gets great joy from blessing and bringing good things to His children. Tim brings ZERO coal. He only brings good things. Finally, TIm gets to spend his entire life without worrying about the normal cares of mortality, working instead to bring joy to other people. He doesn't have to worry about a job, healthcare, food (since children all feed him at their houses), fireplaces (since he has a fireproof suit), or injury (after Comet gives him a safety rope). He who loses his life for God's sake truly shall find it. I will confess that, like Tim Allen, sometimes I don't notice or understand the terms, and sometimes i'm not very good at meeting them. I feel pressed to meet them, overwhelmed at times by what God expects, and disappointed when I don't see what He promises the obedient, particularly when the wicked luxuriate, but that doesn't release me from my obligation. I put on this suit, and I will do my best to bring honour to Christ's name and trust that He will keep His end of the contract too.
Santa's mission is to make magic happen during what was once the least hospitable time of year for the Christian world- winter. Millions of children are counting on Santa to bring good things into their lives. Yes, the characters found reason to disbelieve in Santa Claus as they grew older, grew disappointed, and didn't get what they demanded. Similarly, many adults lose faith in God as they grow older, get disappointed when God fails to follow their commandments even while they flagrantly defy His. His first year, there is a girl concerned with his looks but who pays attention to what he says and provides milk for the lactose intolerant so that Santa will want to return. After they arrest Tim Allen for B&E at his exwife's house, kids are totally apoplectic that Santa has been arrested. At the park, children line up to talk to him. Everywhere he goes, he thinks about the things he can do for others. He's only concerned about making children, particularly his son, happy. I have seen some miracles; they may not seem large to you, but some of them are huge to me. Over six years ago, He freed me from my ex wife. He didn't transform my staff into a snake, cause flaming hail to fall from the sky or plague her house with frogs, but He did inspire my attorney to give me advice, provided the money to pay her off, and made sure my path was clear afterwards to head to a land of promise. I must still be in Sinai, but even there, He has fed me and watered me and provided for me. Yeah, I'm not rich, and I'm not even dating anyone or aware of anyone I'm even interested in dating, but I am free, and I have hope for a better future. Yes, I have been disappointed, but that's because of OTHER PEOPLE who decided to do what they felt was best for them. God doesn't mess with free will, and so the only things I lack I either don't care to obtain or depend on other people exercising their agency. That's not on Santa or God; it's on bosses who won't promote me, agencies who won't hire me, women who won't partner with me, neighbors who won't cooperate with me, and people who have no interest in making my lie easier. All too often, we miss miracles because we expect something big. Judge Reinholdt threw away his faith in Santa for a wienie whistle.
Believing is seeing. We rely too much on our eyes. How do we know we can trust them? No other creature sees the world the way we do. The ant, unable to contact us, might just as well conclude we do not exist because we didn't respond to known pheromone trails, the whale, because we couldn't respond to or join in his song, as humans conclude that Santa and God do not exist because they fail to deliver on their demands on some arbitrary December Day. There are miracles all around you. How do we know that a person in a lab coat is reliable? Scientists lie too (look up the Dutch Lord of the Data). If your parents lied about Santa, are you justified in concluding everything they told you is a lie? People think that I am cynical, untrustworthy, but then they go out and prove themselves often even moreso when they discount their experiences, their hearts, their gut, their elders, and other influences that teach them to believe in something bigger than themselves unless it's something they can see or touch. That's not logical. It's just as much a reducto ad absurdium then to conclude that unless a particular person does a particular thing by an arbitrary date it will never happen or that they never will. Sometimes things beyond out control happen. Judge Reinholdt got his wienie whistle, just not when he was three. Tim Allen got to lead a better life. Eventually the truth comes out and validates the faith of believers everywhere. I love Christmas and Santa because, if you want to see it this way, it evinces that all the things we hope and believe as part of our Faith can and will come to pass someday, somehow, and in some good fashion. Believe, and if you cannot believe, at least desire to believe, and let that work in you until you can remember what it was like to enjoy Christmas as a child. Remember when anything was possible because of a man you never saw who brought gifts for which you probably weren't nice enough and who did it because it pleased him so to do. That's the Christ to a T.
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