Emmanuel – God with Us

God has desired to dwell among us and fellowship with us since the dawn of creation. It was His joy to walk with Adam during the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden. He walked with Enoch and took him past death and translated him directly to heaven to be with Him. God walked with Abraham and allowed him to become the father of a great nation. He wrestled with Jacob, changed his name to Israel, and blessed him beyond measure. He fellowshipped with Joseph in prison and brought him to be a leader in the greatest nation of their day. Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, David, Solomon and the list could of course go on for pages. God desired to dwell among and fellowship with His people.

In every era God has desired to dwell among His people. In the Old Testament the father dwelt among us. During the earthly ministry of Christ, Jesus himself dwelt among us. Today, the Holy Spirit dwells among us and desires to fellowship with us.

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. It is during this time that we exchange gifts. We all desire to receive different types of gifts. Children are certainly the most notorious at this desire to receive. Wouldn’t it be amazing, if not life transforming, if we desired this one thing above all else…Emmanuel? What would it do to our lives and to our families if we fell in love with Christ so much that our chief goal in life was to experience “God with us?”

In this regard, we ought to be celebrating Christmas every moment of every day! Every day should be filled with the pursuit of God. We certainly fill our lives with desires for cars, houses, books, crafts, and every other temporal prize under the sun. Few of us, however, truly seek the presence of Christ above all else. Even those of us have been to Bible College or who are in a position of full time ministry often do not seek His presence the way that we ought.

Let us not so soon forget the meaning of Christmas just because a date has passed and our trees are taken down. Let us not forget the truths of His desire to dwell among us! Let us daily seek the greatest Christmas prize. Emmanuel…God with us!