Saturday, December 17, 2011

Immanuel - God with Us

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us") (1).

God with us. What does this mean?

Christians believe that Jesus came ~2000 years ago as "God in the flesh" and walked among us for about 33 years. Christians also believe that through his Holy Spirit, which came after Christ's resurrection and ascension into heaven, God can reside in our hearts if we allow him (2,3,4). When I was a child, probably the closest I came to feeling God's presence was during Christmas eve services when all the lights were turned off and everyone held a candle while we sang Silent Night. Unfortunately, as soon as I returned to "regular", everyday life, somehow God seemed distant again.

In our world, we recently passed the milepost of seven billion people now alive. Given these multitudes, it is easy to feel small and insignificant. Is it possible that in this massive sea of humanity, God really notices me personally? Sometimes it almost does not seem possible, which can lead to despair. I have felt that despair at such thoughts and doubt I am the only one who has.

Still, there was a promise given us that the coming of Immanuel is meant to be deeply personal, and I believe to the point of being connected with the deepest yearnings of our hearts. God knows you, he came for you on Christmas, and he continues to come for you (5,6). I am reading Henri Nouwen's book Life of the Beloved, who wrote that the words "You are my Beloved" reveal the most intimate truth about God's inclination towards each of us. Nouwen's point is that YOU are treasured, precious, cherished, prized, and loved. YOU matter to God, YOU are adored, he treasures your uniqueness. (7,8,9,10). And you need to know this deep down in your heart because it is core to your identity, foundational to your life.

Especially when we usually hear the opposite from the world around us, things such as "you are not special", "you are worthless", "you fall short", "you are ugly", "the world would have been better if I had never been born", etc. These lies can lead to crippling diminishment and self-rejection. Nouwen warns that in the face of these accusations we must dare to reclaim the truth that we are cherished by God. Nouwen wrote: "The truth, even though we cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace." Christmas demonstrates this (see also my last post "Invasion at Bethlehem").

So, Merry Christmas! And I urge you to not limit your thoughts about Christmas to shopping, packages, parties, listening to holiday music, or even to families and friends or to a stable in Bethlehem 2000 years ago (though those are all good things). Think about the glory and beauty of God's coming for you. You can know and experience his presence in your own personal life if you so choose, and that is very good news indeed!
                                                                                        
Footnotes:
(1) Matthew 1:23;
(2) Acts 1:1-10 and Acts 2:1-4;
(3) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16);
(4) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17);
(5) O LORD, you have searched me
   and you know me.
 You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
   you know it completely, O LORD. (Psalms 139:1);
(6) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20);
(7) The LORD your God in your midst,
      The Mighty One, will save;
      He will rejoice over you with gladness,
      He will quiet you with His love,
      He will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17);
(8) “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. (Matthew 18:12-13);
(9) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:25-26);
(10) “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11).

2 comments:

  1. It is so cool that God loves each of us personally and intimately! I am amazed at how God reveals His unique plan for my life more to me as I take steps toward seeking after Him. The scriptures you posted are great reminders of God's love for each of us. :)

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  2. Thank you Jannis! Nice of you to stop by and comment.

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