You and I enjoy this time of year because we get reacquainted. We get to see folks who have been physically absent in our lives most of the year. We travel to grandma’s house to sit around a dinner table with cousins we haven’t seen in a while. We go on vacation to see friends in distant states. We slow down to see that in fact, we are married and what a joy to take some time with the one we love so much!
This time of year, we celebrate the coming of Jesus. God with skin on. The God who moved into our neighborhood and lived among us. In Matthew 1, the angel tells us that Jesus’ name is Emmanuel which literally means in Hebrew, “God with Us”. The angel announces the prophecy made 740 years before Jesus’ birth by Isaiah. See, God is relational and He wants a relationship with you but what does it mean that God is with us, not only this season but all year long?
We can be assured that God IS with us. Gabriel announced to Mary in Luke 1, “Greeting! The Lord is with you.” God is ever-present in our lives. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 1 that is is right along side us in life. Paul uses the Greek phrase, “Para kalaeo” which means to pull along side. No matter what is going on in your life, God is with you right now.
But God also WAS with you. Sometimes God can best be seen in the review mirror. I mean, we can look backwards in our life and realize God has been there through the thick and thin. The story of Joseph (with the coat of many colors) in the last half of the book of Genesis is a great story to illustrate this. He was a man who put God first in everything yet had a difficult life. His brothers hated him so they sold him into slavery. Once there in Egypt, he is falsely accused of sexual misconduct and thrown into prison. But in Genesis 39, it says, “But the Lord was with Joseph in prison…” By the end of the story, Joseph is second in command of the entire country. See, the Lord was WITH Joseph through the tough years to get him to the best life he could hope for. God has been with you too.
Finally, God WILL BE with you. We know the story of Jesus life and resurrection but young Mary did not. What if she could say at 12 years of age, I know God will be with me when I tell Joseph about my pregnancy, I know God will be with me with there is no room at the inn, I know God will be with me when we run to Egypt to save my baby’s life, I know God will be with me when I see my son walking down main street with a cross on his bloodied back, I know God will be with me when I kneel at the cross and he takes his last breath, I know God will be with me when we wait in silence the three days after his death but then find an empty tomb!!
You see, God is with you, he has been with you, and he will be with you. He’ll never leave or forsake you. The question is, “Are you with God?” You can only have the perfect peace and real love in your life if you say “yes” to the baby in the manger. It’s the season to believe and take the greatest gift you’ll ever receive in Jesus! Blessings on your journey.