Wonder Of Advent #18

More than Just a Name

Read: Matthew 1:22-23

Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

Matthew 1:23

MATTHEW QUOTES Isaiah’s prophecy, which was made all the more mysterious by the child’s designated role: Immanuel, “God is with us.” Even as people of faith, we might be tempted to interpret that promise as a historical phenomenon, as if God was with us in Jesus for a brief moment in time, but now he’s gone. No, this is an eternal promise and a very loaded name.

God with us. This is the same God who brought forth an entire physical realm with nothing more than the sound of his voice. The same God whose Spirit hovered over the dark and deep before Creation’s dawn. The God who won battles, parted seas, and provided miraculously in times of need. The God who vowed irrevocably to be with his people and never forsake them. That’s the God who incarnated himself in human flesh as a child called Immanuel.

God with us. Not against us. Not monitoring our lives to see how far we step out of line and how harshly he will have to discipline us this time. Not watching us from a distance, longing to help if only his hands weren’t tied by his own physical laws. And certainly not away on a journey like a watchmaker who set things in motion and left the scene. No, in Jesus, God promised to be with us, and Jesus made it permanent when he sent his Spirit and embedded a promise of presence into the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20).

God with us. Not just with them way back then. Not a phenomenon reserved for ancient Israel, nor confined to a day when miracles happened (or were merely imagined) more often, nor limited to a culturally obscure God of another era. Not the God we can easily imagine loving other people because they are lovable while assuming he must put up with us because he has to. Not a Father who loves because it’s in his job description. No, the God who is with us is jealous for all of his people and adores those who delight in him. He loves us because we’re the joy of his heart.

God . . . with . . . us. The same feet that walked the roads of Galilee are walking with us right now, today. He is present and available. In Jesus, the Eternal One inhabits every moment of our lives. And he always will.

Prayer

Spirit, you promised not only to be with us but to be in us. I want to experience that reality daily—your wisdom, power, and love flowing for me, in me, and through me. May I walk always in the awareness of your overwhelming presence. Amen.

REFLECTION

How does the promise of Immanuel help when God seems distant? In what tangible ways can we sense his presence?

Further reading: Romans 8:31-39

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

and ransom captive Israel.

“O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL,” LATIN HYMN