Oh that elf

  

We had an elf.  An elf on a shelf.  And each day that elf looked at me and reminded me that I would never be good enough.  That I would always be naughty.  He looked at me and denied the truth of the Gospel, that Christ came and died for my sins WHILE I WAS STILL a sinner.

Then he looked at my children and told them that mommy and daddy did not really mean what they said, sure there was always the threat of not getting any toys, but that threat was never realized.  My children learned two things from that elf.  They learned that mommy and daddy did not mean what they said and they learned that they could not be ever be good enough either.

I mean just imagine it, an 8 year old who is REALLY trying to be good but messes up again.  Imagine the guilt and shame they would feel when they saw the elf looking down from the ceiling fan at them.  There is no grace in that elf, he reports to Santa.  There is no sacrificial love in that elf.  And let's be honest, Santa is not about sanctifying us.  He is about rewarding our good works.

So, our little elf went back into his box.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS.  I love the celebration.  I love the songs, the food, the gifts, the decorations.  I love it all!  I love what the original St Nicholas was all about.  I think God loves a good celebration too.  The Old Testament is filled with them.  I have struggled with this.  Isn't the elf and Santa just a little bit of holiday fun?  There is no harm in that, is there?

Yes, there is.  I hate it, but there is.  We are in the middle of a battle.  A battle of good and evil.  And evil wants our children.  Evil wants our children to live lives that are just like everyone else.  Evil wants our children to look like the world.  Evil wants us to believe being set apart is not that important.  Evil wants us to believe that we CAN work ourselves into being good enough.  

Some day our children will be forced to take a stand for their faith.  A stand that will have eternal consequences.  Each tiny step we take towards a works based gospel, a watered down gospel is weakening their ability to stand up and proclaim who they are in Christ.

Celebrate the season.  Shout to the hills that LOVE came down on that Christmas day.  Celebrate that God's grace came to us BEFORE we were good.  We did nothing to earn it.  We are saved by grace.