He's not making a list!

Good News:
He’s Not Making a List!
by Ken Miller

Growing up, one of my favorite Disney records featured Jiminy Cricket, or was it Gene Autry, singing, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” The song was quickly committed to memory and hummed in my back yard as my frozen fingers and soggy mittens tossed another snowball at my brother.
The words carefully laid out Santa’s protocol for giving presents. He kept a list, and checked it twice. On that list, he kept track of when I was bad or good, naughty or nice. In early December, when he tallied up my deeds, the longest list determined my fate. If the nice list was longest, I’d get my presents. If the naughty list was longer, I could look forward to a chunk of coal. (Thankfully, my parents did not get that memo from the North Pole.)
Santa kept coming to town and soon I gave up my Cub Scout uniform for the one worn by the Boy Scouts. I was in awe of how many merit badges some of the older Scouts had earned. Setting my mind on a campfire merit badge, I studied the manual and within a couple weeks, I rushed home to ask Mom to sew my badge on my uniform. Oh, happy day! I had earned my first merit badge.
As time passed, I saw how much of life was based on a merit system. If I performed well in school, I’d get good grades. If I did well on the job, I’d get a pay check. Life was full of lists and lots of performance.
Then I met Jesus and He gave me some Good News. (This is not a direct quote, dear reader, but would you allow me a little liberty?) “I do not make lists—and if someone gives me one, I put it in the Divine paper shredder, (1 Cor. 13:5, Rom. 8:1, ) never to be seen again.” (Rom. 5:8, John 3:17, Ps. 103:12)
On the back cover of his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey reminds us, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less.” From his book, The Purpose of Christmas, Rick Warren puts it like this: “God’s love for you is based on His character, not your conduct.”
Composer, Annie J. Flint described it like this: “His love has no limits; His grace has no measure; His power no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.” And isn’t that what the first Christmas was all about? (John 3:16)