not a santa claus kind of God

With Christmas still lingering in the air, I started thinking about Santa Claus and how different he is from the God we serve.  A lot of times, though, we can start to view God the way we see Santa.  We misunderstand the character of our God and respond to Him out of that misunderstanding instead of responding to Him out of the abounding grace He pours out on us.  Santa makes a list and checks it twice to find out who's been naughty and who's been nice.  He then visits little children to portion out for them gifts based on how good or bad they have been.  (Well, so the story goes.  But really, what child gets coal for Christmas?!)  Santa sees you when you're sleeping, knows when you're awake, and he knows if you've been bad or good.  If you end up on his "nice" list at the end of the year all kinds of good gifts will be waiting for you under the tree on Christmas morning.  But beware, if you are on the "naughty" list it will be coal and switches for you.  Rewards for good behavior and a lack of reward for bad behavior.  The motivator for the child's behavior becomes what they want in the end--what they want from Santa--what they can get from him--staying off the "naughty" list.  How easy it is for us to start to try and relate to God in this way.  We can start to think that if we are "nice" and good and have done enough good deeds, God will reward us and be pleased with us and shower us with His favor.  If we have been "naughty" and sinned against Him then He will not be pleased and will turn away from us.  The truth is that God responds to us out of WHO HE IS and not out of what we have done or not done.  In actuality, we are all on the "naughty" list.  "There is no one righteous, not even one."(Romans 3:10)  We are all unworthy of the grace and mercy God gives to us.  That's what makes His actions toward us gracious and merciful.  But, thankfully, He doesn't give to us based on our worth or actions, but based on the actions of the One, Jesus, who has gone before us and in our place.  There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor, and there is nothing we can do to lose it.  Why? Because, it's not about our own work, actions, deeds or attempts at goodness, but about what Christ has done for us.  It is finished!!  We do not have a Santa Claus kind of God.  We have a God way more wonderful than that!!