With the Christmas season officially in full swing, hot drinks are a mainstay in the kitchen, the presents are available, a shopping list is well underway, and for millions of Americans, it means Christmas movies.

One that comes particularly to mind is the fan favorite movie, Elf. The story of how elves raised a human in the North Pole (we’re aware there is no such thing, but we use this movie for illustrative purposes only), we see the human elf restore the true Christmas spirit, deliver the truth that Christmas is about believing not seeing, and make the world around him a better place.

The Nice List

There is one particular fleeting scene that we will focus on in this post. As Buddy (the main elf) goes through early life after mistakenly being taken to the North Pole we find him in “elf school.” During this particular class they recite the three rules of Christmas, which are:

1. Treat every day like Christmas
2. There’s room for everyone on the nice list
3. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

Suffice to say each of these rules deserve their own post. The first, have a spirit of giving and humility all year round. The third, shine your light to those around you. But today we focus on the second rule: there is room for everyone on the nice list.

Buddy goes down to New York because his father lives on the naughty list (in other words, no presents). It is a big deal to be on the naughty list as all the elves gasp at hearing the word. Even though elves make toys for millions of children every year, no limit defines who can get a toy(s).

Heavenly Nice Lists

Perhaps you have caught on to the direction of this post. Maybe you see the point that we are slowly trying to make. The list has no limits. You want to be in this list because the benefits are endless.

Like the nice list, there is another list that determines the naughty from the nice, in more serious terms. The Book of Life contains the nice list of people who have surrendered their heart to God. It does not exclude anyone by race, net worth, social standing, or other categories. It is available to all who want to be on the list. God wants everyone to be on this list. 1 Timothy 2:4 says:

[God] who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth

Did you catch that? God desires  salvation for everyone. Jesus died for everyone’s sins. Whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)! How wonderful is that?! There are some believers out there who believe in an upper limit of people allowed to enter Heaven. However,  you cannot find this in the Bible. And unlike the nice list in Elf, you cannot work your own way into the Book of Life. Only by the blood of the Lamb will you enter the city.

So what?

What does this message mean?

1. There is room for you in heaven, if you want to be there
2. Jesus wants you to be there
3. Jesus died so you could be there
4. There is nothing you can do on your own accord to get to heaven. Only the blood of Jesus can save you.

Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). The choice is yours. You can choose what list to be on. Think of the eternal rewards in store for those who choose Jesus. You are God’s child, and He wants His family together in a sin-free, pain-free, crime-free, political-free home.

Will you choose Jesus today?