Santa Claus doesn't always bring what you want!

Luke 1 (New International Version, ©2010)

⁵ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.


We have an amazing Christmas tradition in the United States. Kids are taken to the mall or some local store, or town square, or many other countless locations at Christmas time. The sole purpose is to talk to a guy in a full white beard, with a bit of a gut, and ask him for a special gift on Christmas morning. This is quite a risky venture for parents, to say the least. What if they ask for some absolutely extravagant gift that "Santa" can't afford or maybe even have access too? Being a parent at one time in my life, I knew how important it was to "coach" your kids in what they should ask for. But, there was always a little tension when they were sitting on the "Big Guys lap".  Kids ask for the darnedest things! 


As Christians we also ask for the "Darnedest" things. We rap our extravagant requests in all sorts of righteousness and just hope that God will come through, just like Santa Claus. Well, this is not the case in this Biblical story. Zechariah and Elizabeth were "righteous in the sight of God", Zechariah was a Priest, they were faithful to God's commands, and yet God had consistently told them NO! Elizabeth wasn't asking to win the lottery. Zechariah wasn't wanting to double the profits in his small business. They weren't praying to win the Super Bowl! They were asking for a Child!  This petition of God had gone on for years with the simple answer of no. There was no explanation, no sign that they just had to wait, just the simple answer, no.


The Christmas tradition we have here in the US does a disservice to God. More often than not, Santa Claus brings us what we want.  I can't ever remember being disappointed on Christmas morning. Santa always said yes. So, if God is so much bigger and better than Santa Claus, shouldn't he say Yes, all the time, too? But God does say no and most of the time, we don't know why. We just have to take it on faith and keep trusting him .  This is so easy to say and tougher to follow through with. I wonder if I would be satisfied even to know why. Or would I just try to change Gods mind to follow my plan? With Zechariah and Elizabeth they didn't know the end of the story. They didn't know the time was not right and when the time was right, their son would help usher in the King of Kings. They didn't know why but they continued to be faithful anyways. They were rewarded in a Grand way. They got their Christmas present and so much more because they let God be God and they remained faithful followers. That's a lesson we could all learn.


Dear Lord, Thank you for your marvelous plan. Thank You for saying No when No is the right answer. Thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to die for our sins. That was the greatest gift we could ever ask for. Amen!