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This year, I was afforded the opportunity to do something I have always thought would be fun: to become Santa Claus.

It was an extra special blessing because this is our first Christmas in Japan.   Not only are we far from our loved ones but we are also far from the Christian nativity icons that we would usually see in America at Christmastime. Japan is largely non-religious when it comes to Christmas. It is more or less a “Hallmark holiday,” that comes and just as quickly goes with expensive Christmas cards and a handful of gift ideas. It is filled with LED Christmas lights at high prices and little variety. Christmas is certainly not sentimental here by any means, at least to most Japanese.

So how can we bring Jesus into the picture where Jesus is not found in most places?  That is the need and the challenge. Not without some debate perhaps, but using a Christian icon (yes, Santa is based on a real person, Bishop St. Nicholas) familiar to those who do not know Christ seemed like a great way to introduce the love of Christ. And so we did — and we will some more.

We held our first annual “Christmas Open House” at Munakata Bethel Christian Center on December 10, 2011. It was a time of church and community family  sharing time together, eating, having coffee, fellowship, listening to holiday music and receiving some love from Santa Claus (me) as well as from the church. We have plans for Santa to visit a cancer center for children, and we will visit a senior center to show some holiday cheer to the elderly here in Japan. These will happen on Christmas Eve.

When the love and compassion of God is inside of you, it is very easy to share because you simply cannot hold it all to yourself! The love of God is given by the Holy Spirit, and with God’s heart, is given to those who are weak, those in need, those lonely and those searching for something better than their own lives.

Santa Claus is the portrayal of a real historic figure with an element of mysterious folklore that has evolved over time. Santa supposedly sees everything that everyone has done right and wrong, and he rewards those who do good. He even rewards those who don’t necessarily have a good track record. Sound like anyone you may know? No, Santa is not Jesus nor should the two be combined or misconstrued to say they are one in the same. Not at all.

Being Santa simply makes sharing that love for mankind all the more enjoyable, and when used in the right context, provides an in-road to bless many people with the heart of God.