“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
Matthew 1: 23, NIV
Read: Matthew 1: 18-25
Would you give up the life of your only child to save someone who did not deserve it? Hmmm…. Is that even a question, right? I don’t have to think for a long time to arrive at my personal answer. For me that would be a hard: “No!” I am in no illusions about my selfish heart. And yet, God chose to send His only son to become Immanuel – God with us.
Each day that I look at my two daughters, I am in awe that God has entrusted such precious gifts to Mark and me as parents. Even on days when they do or say something that works my last nerve, I am grateful for the gift of parenthood. However, I remind myself that they are not mine to keep. They have been entrusted to us by God and we are called to be good stewards – to nurture them in partnership with God. At the same time, I would be lying if I did not say that there is a strong maternal bond that connects me to them in a very possessive way. I carried these girls in my own body.
Our human minds cannot fully understand the paternal ties that exists between God the Father and His son. This divine connection is unlike anything we can experience. We are told that the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30). Yet, God chose to separate himself from His son to save His sinful creation. He chose to come close to us as, Immanuel – God with us, on this divine rescue mission.
But there is more to the story than that. God would allow His son to leave the splendor of a heavenly home to come to a world that was putrid with the stench of sin, live among people who would treat Him terribly, and ultimately yell “crucify him!” He would watch on from a distance as his only son died a horrific death on a cross.
God loves us so much that he was willing to give up His most precious son to save us all.
Love came to dwell among us. Immanuel, God with Us, is a story told in four words.
REFLECT: Think about what it must have cost God to send his only son to earth to pay the price for our sins. In what ways are we called to sacrifice things that we hold dear to help others in need?
Live deep; laugh much.
I help individuals create space and develop habits and strategies to live a flourishing life — one goal at a time.