God with us

God with us.

This time of year that phrase seems to roll off the tongue when we sing Christmas carols or hymns that speak of Christ’s coming to earth as a child. Do we really grasp the meaning of the phrase though?

God with us.

We have this picture of the nativity in our minds. A picture that has Mary, Joseph, a baby boy named Jesus, and an assortment of animals, shepherds, angels, wise men, gold, and whatever frankincense and myrrh might be. Too often though, that’s all it is. A picture. A snapshot in our mind’s eye of a moment in time not captured by any camera. A portrait that has been painted for us by God’s Word, passed down through the centuries.

God with us.

You see, it wasn’t simply words on a page to these people. It wasn’t a painting, or words to a song, or stained glass in a window. It was real. Jesus, the Son of God, born of a virgin, was real and was laying there among them. I’m certain that few, if any of them, knew what this child would grow up to do. All they knew at that moment was that he was there, in front of them. A tangible, real person. A baby, complete with all the unpleasant things that babies do, but full of the love and hope of God. The incarnate Christ, right there in front of them. The shepherds knew this because an angel and told them. The magi knew this because of a star, Joseph knew because of a dream, and Mary knew because the angel Gabriel appeared to her.

God with us.

But how do we know? How do we make that jump from words on a page to reality? How do we know that Christ is with us, just like he was in that manger (in a cave or stable, let’s not argue) so long ago? Do we see it in the actions and words of those around us? Do we experience it at our churches and in our homes? Do we show it to others ourselves? What does it mean to have God with us?

We are born separated from God. We live our lives in ways that are sinful, sometimes without knowing it, sometimes with full knowledge of it, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We need the Christmas story to be real in order for us to know the extent of what Christ did on the cross. If Christ wasn’t Emmanuel, God with us, at his birth, then what power would his death and resurrection hold?

This Christmas season, we must remember that Christ is with us. As John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ became flesh in order to become the sacrifice for our sins. It wasn’t a “he was here, now he is gone” kind of thing. He passed through the life of a human in order to become the once and for all sacrifice for us. Easter is not what it is without Christmas proclaiming God with us.

The carol O Holy Night says, “A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices.” This Christmas I pray that we all experience that thrill of hope in Christ and rejoice that Emmanuel has come.

God is with us.