Understanding ‘God with Us’ This Christmas
| Greetings to all of you saints, God’s beloved peopleChristmas is upon us!!!! It is the time of the year that we set apart to focus on God’s grace to humanity, honoring the birth of the Savior of the world through Christ Jesus our Lord!! “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). – Matt 1:23 The name Immanuel, or “God with us”, is not a name that any of us are unfamiliar with. It is not foreign or strange. It can be found on countless Christmas cards and decorations and I can’t imagine a person who would think that it is not a good thing to be familiar with the things of God. However, there is a danger that we must protect ourselves against. This can be summed up in the old saying” Familiarity breeds contempt”. When we have become too familiar with something, there is a potential to take it for granted and quickly move on to the next. In John’s gospel, we read that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “God with us” was a literal event and we have a record of what He did during His visit. As tempted as I am to list out a slew of scriptures for you to reference, instead I would like to give you some homework to do. During the month of December, I ask that you make time to read thoughtfully through Luke’s Gospel and then the Gospel of John. Starting in December, if you read 2 chapters a day, you will be finished before Christmas! One purpose of the Christian life is to imitate the life of Christ, who is the image of God to the highest human form. As we reflect on what it means to have “God with us” this season, please do not miss the purpose of His example: For us to live as He did and make His ways our ways. As we approach this Holy celebration, I encourage every one of us to not only focus on what the birth of Christ meant and the miracle of God visiting us in the flesh but let us all be reminded of what our lives should look like. As you do this, please be careful not to compare your life as a negative example of how you don’t measure up, that is by no means the purpose. The correct way to approach this task is to observe and make notes on how Jesus lived and make those ways your own. As we live as the One who was “God with us”, we will reveal this very real experience to others. Practice the love of Christ, and you will draw others to Him. Love you all, God’s Grace and Peace to you. – Pastor Jason |
Discover more from Community Christian Fellowship
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a Reply