The Word of God gives many names and titles for Jesus Christ: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Bread of Life, Good Shepherd, The Door, The True Vine and more, but my favorite title for Jesus is Emmanuel, found here in Matthew chapter 1. Emmanuel means “God with us”. Imagine it—the God who created the universe and sustains it, the God who holds the past, present and future in His hands—this God has come close to us!
Joseph must have clung to this truth that God was with him when he courageously took Mary to be his wife, even though cultural and family forces were tugging at him to walk away from her. I’m sure Joseph realized that if Almighty God was right there with him in his obedience to the angel, it didn’t matter what anybody else said or did.
I think of how much it has helped me when people have decided to go right with me in my struggles. I think of our IT guy who didn’t just tell me how to run a projector that was baffling me, but went over to another building where it was, and walked me through the whole process. I think of the time I went to see someone in a sprawling and confusing care facility, getting hopelessly lost, and having a worker not just tell me where to go but walk me all the way through crazy stairwells, tunnels and elevators to my destination. I think of how my sister-in-law stuck with me for 5 hours when I had a health crisis away from home. These are small things, but they point to Jesus, our “God with us”, who will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what happens in this next year, we can say with the Scripture, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).
Jesus is our Emmanuel.
For Reflection:
- When have you experienced “God With Us”? How did God reassure you of His presence in a time of need?
- Work this week on memorizing Matthew 1:22-25.
Nativity Building Activity: If you have other townspeople (or toy action figures!) bring them near the stable to worship Jesus, too!
by Ruth Carver
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