Growing up I always knew that Santa Claus was not real. (Sorry. Probably should have prefaced with a “spoiler alert” before dropping that truth.) But I liked to pretend and had a great imagination, so I would put out my play food by our fireplace with a little note embracing the magic of the season.

When we think about how the Santa-child relationship is supposed to work, the interaction makes sense to our human brains. We do something good, we get something good; on the contrary, if we do something bad, we get something bad…or nothing at all. Who has been naughty? Who has been nice? There are criteria and lists, and it really all just fits so nicely together. It’s a balanced transaction.

So sometimes I struggle with my faith because our God is not like that. Our God is a non-transactional God. And praise him for this! Because, I don’t know about you, but nothing I’ve done, said or sacrificed can quite be enough to ‘even the score’ with Christ dying on the cross for my sins. God follows a grace-based ethic, meaning you get what you don't deserve. What we deserve is eternal condemnation for our sins, and what we get as believers is eternal life with God. The grace of God (Jesus) appeared on Christmas for this very purpose: to bring salvation to all people, even though we don’t deserve it. (Titus 2:11)

Santa follows the American hard work ethic: you get back exactly what you’ve put in. The world often holds this as truth, and often my mind falls into that way of thinking. If I scratch your back, you better scratch mine. (And I’ll hold you to that…because that’s the code). Good works = Good things. Bad behavior = Punishment. Black and white. I try to put God into that category but He doesn’t work like that.

In June 2018, I started a one-year fellowship with International Justice Mission in South Asia, with the option of extending my time if I wanted to. After much prayer, I decided to stay an extra six months. That was hard. It was a sacrifice. It was a step of faith. The last six months of my term were thus a cakewalk. Wrong. It wasn’t until three months past my one year mark, when I was discouraged and struggling, that I realized that I had this expectation: I would be obedient and God would reward me and make my life easy. I did “good,” so I would receive in-kind (in the way I expected it.) And looking back, that time was so, so good. But in the middle of it, I wanted to call it quits and come home. This was not the “reward” I felt I deserved.

So, then about a year ago I came back to the United States. I had served 17 months of my life, knowing that I probably would be putting my dating life on hold, thus putting my heart’s desire to be married on hold. And I did that willingly, without wrong motivation. But now that I’m back, part of me feels gypped. I thought I did “good,” so logically God would bless me immediately with a relationship. Wrong again. Actually there is a global pandemic and not even the possibility of meeting anyone in person.

When I do something and think that God will do what I want in return, I have to remind myself that He isn’t Santa. When God doesn’t play the cause and effect game, I get upset. Because it’s not fair. But nowhere in Scripture does it say that when we obey the road will be smooth. In fact it says the opposite. The road will be hard, pick up your cross, leave everything behind, follow Me, be beaten, imprisoned, killed.

Scripture has wonderful promises that God will be with you, that He will give you peace, that he loves you, that when you walk through the fire He will be there…but He doesn’t promise there will be no fire. We are called to be obedient anyway.

And I’m not saying we shouldn’t ask God for things. We absolutely should pray big and in faith. But the difference between Santa and God is that the answer is not based on anything we do or say. I have to remember that God gives good gifts to His children and if He is not giving me the gift I want, it must not be good for me. At least not at this time in my life. God answers our prayers in his infinite wisdom and grace. And the great thing about a non-transactional God is that we don’t have to repay anything because we can’t. We just get to receive. And give Him praise.

Ultimately, it’s not about me. It’s about God receiving glory. That’s why we were put on this earth. So if I obey it’s for God’s glory and if I face trials it’s for His glory and if I have answered prayer it’s for His glory. Because it’s not about life being fair. It’s about our lives pointing to Christ in all things. And in the end, our reward -- God himself -- is infinitely more than anything we could earn through our good works.

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Danielle (Dani) Rupp grew up in a small town in Ohio and is a true Buckeye fan, though she tries not to be obnoxious about it. In 2011 she came to Pennsylvania to earn her Master of Social Work degree. In 2019 Dani returned from South Asia, where she volunteered with International Justice Mission, learned to tolerate spicy food and cross the roads without being hit.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Surviving the Holidays - Thursday, December 3

Wondering how you will survive the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas? Are you dreading these holidays, knowing that everything has changed and that happy memories from past years can’t be recreated. Click here for details.

YoungMoms Christmas Shopping Event- Friday, December 4

Would you like to bless a teen mom and her family this Christmas? On December 4, YoungMoms is hosting their annual Christmas Shopping Event. Click here for details.

The Garage Annual Holiday Auction - Saturday, December 5

Support The Garage Community and Youth Center through their Annual Holiday Auction on Saturday, December 5.Click here for details.