Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

One of my first courses I took to become a lay leader for my church, the class was given an assignment. It was to be entitled, “I Believe” and we had to write about what we truly believed.

In church, growing up, we always recited the Apostle’s Creed, which began with the words I believe, but this was supposed to be what we, as individuals believed as a Christian. It may sound easy, but it took some thought for sure.

Advent is a time when we have to look into our hearts and ask ourselves these questions:

Do we truly believe in the story of Christmas?

Do we believe that Jesus came to bring hope, peace, love, and joy to our lives?

Are we preparing our hearts for the return of Jesus someday?

Christmas is a time of giving gifts, as we know, and even though Santa Claus is not in the Bible, Saint Nicholas is the true historical basis for the tradition of remembering Jesus as God’s greatest gift to us. Saint Nicholas was a generous Christian bishop from Turkey, who inspired gift giving. As he traveled around, he gave gifts but taught about the gift of Jesus. His act of giving mirrored Christian teachings, especially helping the poor.

A former pastor had Santa come as a guest on Sunday and he interviewed him for his sermon. It was very interesting as we learned about Saint Nicholas. It is something I will never forget.

Some people do not like the idea of Santa Claus, because they say he overshadows the true Christmas story from the Bible. Santa adds magic and creates wonderful memories for children, but he can also represent kindness, generosity, and we can teach our children that the spirit of giving is what Jesus does for us. What we can do is celebrate Santa, but always emphasize that Jesus is the true reason for Christmas, if we truly believe.