December 13 - Immanuel

December 13 - Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23

God With Us. Immanuel.

This verse came into my inbox the other day and rather than read it and toss it out, I let it sit for several days as I processed on how much it meant to me.

Hundreds of years had passed and one of the signs God had given to Isaiah which would signify the coming of the Messiah was that a virgin would be with child and would give birth to a son. Something that no one could imagine, a great miracle. At the time that this happened, He would represent God walking among us. God with us. Immanuel.

I like to look at life as a series of cycles or to see it as a pendulum swinging back and forth. If the stock market goes up, it will go down again. If unemployment gets out of hand, given time, it will return to a manageable state. If we grieve over losses, time will pass and our lives will move back to normal. The seasons cycle - if we hate winter, summer will be here soon. The days cycle - if we love the morning, it returns every twenty-four hours. Our lives are filled with these cycles - everything always returns.

In the beginning of time, God was present among His people. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, He spent time with Abraham and Sarah. His presence among the people of Israel when they crossed the Red Sea and the desert was found in the flame at night and the cloud during the day. He resided in the Holy of Holies. The people knew that He was present among them.

Then, 2000 years ago, He walked among us again - as an infant, a child and then a wandering teacher. He made sure that we recognized Him as the Son of God - living as the Son of Man. God was with us again. He ripped the curtain that separated Him from man and made His presence known among us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

A day is coming when He no longer will be with us, but we will be with Him.

The virgin gave birth to a son so that we would recognize that God was with us. When that Son returns in the clouds ... we will be with God. The cycle will be complete.