Does God Know Santa?

“Does God know Santa?” my eight year-old grandson asked? The pressure was on. He still believes in Santa Claus and since God made everything and everyone and knows us all by name, I couldn’t say no.

I sent a quick prayer heavenward and asked for wisdom. Then I took a deep breath and… (wait for it), I told him, “Of course God knows Santa. He knows and loves everybody.” This seemed to satisfy his curiosity for the moment.

The childlike wonder and magical “specialness” of Christmas led to other questions about God and a chance to discuss the real reason for Christmas – the baby Jesus who was sent to earth by God as his special gift to us. We spent twenty minutes talking about the Christ child and God’s love for us. It was a special time for me to see his young heart so open to the true message of Christmas.

He was fascinated by the story of baby Jesus and the celebration of his birth in a stable and his bed of straw in a manger. The story of the wonderful angels who lit up the night sky proclaiming wonderful news to the shepherds in nearby fields evoked a number of questions. As I answered them, I began to see Christmas through the eyes of a child for whom the wonder of God’s son sent to earth as a grand and glorious gift to all of mankind is profound.

By the end of our conversation he was a little closer to understanding the true meaning and real “magic” of Christmas – after all they don’t call it Santa-mas, do they?

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