Santa Claus

You may be wondering what I'm going to say. You've all heard how Christmas has been taken away from Jesus and put on Santa instead. But that's not what this post is about. No matter how much I'd love to debate this issue, I think this picture can sum up what I want to say. Or at least part of it.

This is the section I want to draw your attention to.

As we walked up to this colorful display of Christmas decor in Belak's Flowers, Stephen says "Why is there a lion sitting with Santa in that balloon?" You cana't see it in either of these pictures..but this is a mobile. On one side is the world, on the other is Santa in a hot air balloon. Sitting with Santa is a lion and a lamb.

I honestly wouldn't even have noticed this if Stephen hadn't said something. I immediately thought to myself They're trying to depict Santa as JESUS! How DARE THEY! They think Santa brings peace to the world. And of course, that's all the the world thinks they need. Peace. Oh how wrong they are.

So where do we as Christians get the "lion will be at peace with the lamb" thing anyways? Well, it isn't directly in the Bible. We have distorted this verse to say what we want it to.

Isaiah 11: 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.

This verse speaks of the millennial reign of Christ. Even though it doesn't say "The lion will be at peace with the lamb" it says the wolf. And it's not only my translation. Nearly every translation that is out there says the wolf and the lamb. But thats not the point. Only Jesus can make the lion and lamb be at peace.

Hosea 2:18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things o fhte ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely.

So why do I get all riled up about Santa being in a hot air balloon mobile with a lion and a lamb? Clearly, only God can do such a thing. And by putting "Santa" in that position of God is an abomination. Not just to me, but it should be to everyone who knows God. Think about it.