I had a dream in which I was telling my granddaughter a true story to warn her about fantasies and false beliefs. As I told her the story, we were able to watch it unfold right before our eyes.
This is the story of The Red Sleigh:
A young woman lived near the base of a very high, majestic mountain. She would often look up toward the top of the mountain, wishing she could go there, but it was so high up that she thought it was impossible for anyone to reach. Then one day, she heard that a few people had recently made it to the summit of that very mountain. After hearing this report, she decided that it was possible for her to make it as well. The prospect of standing on that summit brought such a thrill of excitement to her heart that she began making preparations for her own journey up the mountain.
Now this young woman believed in God, but she also believed in many things that were not real and not true. From early childhood, she had been taught many fantasies and falsehoods, and these had become very dear to her heart. Her favorite fantasy was about a magic red sleigh that had power to move and fly through the air on its own without needing anything to pull it.
The young woman pondered all the usual ways to ascend such a high mountain, but she decided that they were all too difficult. Then she thought about the magic red sleigh. She decided it would be the easiest and best way to reach the summit, so she immediately set out to find a magic red sleigh. Somehow, she was able to acquire a small red sleigh and have it delivered to the base of the mountain. Now there was no snow anywhere on the base or on the lower slopes of this mountain, but the young woman was not concerned because she believed that the little red sleigh had magic power.
The young woman was so eager to begin her journey to the top of the mountain that the moment her preparations were complete, she stepped into the sleigh and made herself comfortable. The red sleigh she had acquired was a real sleigh with reins attached to it for guiding horses, but the young woman saw no need for horses because she believed the sleigh had magic power to move on its own. She thought the reins were just a means of controlling the sleigh, so she took the reins in her hands and began to shake them, commanding the red sleigh to transport her up to the top of the mountain. She expected the sleigh to begin moving, but there was no response. She shook the reins again and commanded the sleigh to go, but nothing happened. For quite a while she continued to sit there, shaking the reins and commanding the sleigh to take her to the top of the mountain, but it never moved at all.
Eventually, the young woman stepped out of the red sleigh and stood in front of it. She still believed it had magic power, but she thought it may need some help to get moving, so she decided to use the reins to pull the sleigh forward. Had there been snow on the ground, she would have been able to move this sleigh fairly easily because it was quite small. However, the base and lowers slopes of the mountain were covered with grass and stones and the terrain was very rough. Undaunted by this, the young woman took up the reins and began to pull. With great effort, she was able to move the sleigh forward a little, so she summoned all her strength and began to pull the sleigh up the slope. But alas, the red sleigh did not move on its own as she had hoped, and she was only able to drag it for a short distance before she became too weary to continue.
Then the young woman stepped back into the red sleigh and sat down to rest for a while. Regardless of the circumstances, she was still convinced that it had magic power. After regaining her strength, the young woman took the reins in her hands and shook them harder, while loudly commanding the red sleigh to transport her to the top. As before, she shook the reigns for quite a while, but it did not move at all. Once again, she got out of the sleigh and pulled it behind her, but she was only able to drag it a short distance before she became too weary to continue. Then she climbed into the sleigh and sat down to rest again. Still believing it had magic power, the young woman repeated this process again and again until she could no longer move the sleigh at all.
Now the young woman was so exhausted that she could do nothing for a very long time except sit and rest in the red sleigh. As she sat there, she began to wondering why it was not taking her to the summit. Eventually, she decided to look up to the top of the mountain hoping to receive help from above, but she did not see anyone up there. Then she looked down toward the bottom of the mountain hoping someone could help her. She could see some people standing at the base of the mountain, so she called down to them. When the people heard her voice, they looked up and saw a young woman sitting in a red sleigh that was situated a short distance up the side of the mountain. They did not know that she had pulled the sleigh up there, so they believed that the red sleigh was actually transporting her up the mountain. Because of this, they did not realize she was calling to them for help. Therefore, they just cheered her on and did not come to her aid.
Though the young woman was very exhausted and somewhat discouraged, she still held on to her belief in the magic red sleigh. Hour after hour, she continued to sit in the sleigh, hoping it would take her up the mountain. Near the end of the day, she finally decided to get out and take a good look at her situation. That is when she noticed that the sleigh runners were stuck in deep gravel.
Then the truth finally dawned on the young woman and she saw the reality of her situation. As the truth came into her heart, she realized that the magic red sleigh was only a fantasy and that it could never take her to the top of the mountain. She also realized that fantasies and falsehoods had been more dear to her than God, and that faith in them had actually undermined her faith in God.
Now that she knew the truth, she also knew that she would never be able to stand on the summit of that majestic mountain unless she was willing to give up all the fantasies and false beliefs and put all her faith in God. So, with a contrite heart, she chose to leave the red sleigh behind and put her faith in God alone. Then she looked toward the summit and asked God to lead her up the mountain.
Interpretation of this Dream:
The mountain represents what scripture calls, “The Hill of the Lord,” which symbolizes a higher level of spiritual intimacy with God. The young woman and other people in the dream represent Christians. The red sleigh represents the Santa Claus fantasy, but it also represents ALL fantasies and false beliefs. God specifically used a magic red sleigh in this dream because it would automatically be associated with the story of Santa Claus and his red sleigh. He wanted us to clearly see how the devil has used the Santa Claus fantasy to take Christ out of Christmas. Santa Claus and his red sleigh have even been accepted in much of the Christian Church, overshadowing the importance of the birth of Jesus.
In this dream, the woman had acquired a real sleigh, but she wanted to use it for a purpose that was the exact opposite of what a sleigh is designed for. A real sleigh can easily glide on snow if it is pulled by horses. It could even travel downhill easily on a snowy slope without being pulled by horses. But it is absurd to believe that a sleigh can travel up a mountain without any snow and without anything to pull it. This represents the level of deception the devil has been able to achieve in drawing the hearts of mankind away from God.
Children and adults are being inundated with the fantasy world of super-hero’s, princesses and all forms of magical thinking through the entertainment world of toys, games, television, books and the internet. People are also being constantly fed biased, misleading and false information through the news media. The devil has been using all of this to gradually deceive people into believing the opposite of the truth. More and more, good is being called evil and evil is being called good. Many Christians have even fallen prey to this, resulting in so much mixture and deception being brought into the Church that it is usurping the place Jesus should rightfully have as head of His own house and His own family!
Psalm 24:3-6 says, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
Moses climbed the mountain of God to meet with Him and the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as one would speak to a friend. God longs for all Christians to seek His face and ascend His holy hill, but we will only be allowed to ascend His holy hill and stand in His holy place if we repent and stop filling our soul with what is false and deceitful.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” If we repent and ask the Lord to cleanse us of our sins and purify our hearts, and if we seek the face of God will all our heart, we will surely ascend the hill of the Lord and find Him there, waiting for us with outstretched arms.
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