I don't have kids, praise the Lord, but I was a kid. Once. And I fully believed in Santa Claus. Until my hopes were dashed in second grade when Dad sat me down & told me Santa wasn't real. My response? "So, you bought me the Barbie house last year?" and "Does that mean the Easter Bunny isn't real, either?" To be honest, and this is a looooong time ago so I'm not sure my memory is all that good, I don't remember questioning those things. I just believed. Now, I do remember some evil heathen child telling me Santa wasn't real while we were trying to stay warm on the playground, but even then, I don't remember not believing. I must have questioned, though, because the truth came out.
Have you considered that maybe my (children's/adult's) difficulty believing in God stems from my (your) parents telling me for the first formative years of my life that there was this omnipotent being, jolly & fat with a white beard, who delivered presents to all the children of the world, and who knew if I had been naughty or nice...and then to find out, "Guess what? Not real." And then you expect your children to believe that God is real? How are they supposed to differentiate between the lie of Santa and the truth of God? They're children! And then they question everything. And grow up questioning everything. It's no wonder I'm so conflicted.
I don't blame my parents by any means. Believing in Santa is a wondrous experience for a child. I'm not sure it's a necessity, but it is joyous. It is magical. I wouldn't have changed it at all.
But it made me think. Have you noticed the similarities between God & Santa? We've even made God a white man with a white beard! I honestly think God is unimaginable. We can't even fathom a picture of him/her/it in our minds.
Something to ponder...
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