“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” (Isaiah 7:14, NLT)
As Christmas approaches, we often hear this name of Jesus. Songs like, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” remind us that God is in our midst. For that is what Immanuel means: God with us.
Our Shepherd was continually with His sheep from the beginning of time; but He wasn't satisfied with just being in our presence. So He put Himself in our position.
Two thousand and eighteen years ago, Jesus left heaven to enter earth as a human baby. The Shepherd became a Sheep and a Savior all at once. He became Immanuel in the fullness of its meaning.
There is a depth to the name “Immanuel” that I don’t know how to describe. It’s easy to take this name and unintentionally dilute it. We say, ‘Yes, God is with us. He’s right here in the room!’ That’s true, but Immanuel means more than that.
Our Immanuel is more than present in our lives; He participates with us.
He actively protects us, fights for us, and provides for us. God has always been with us, but Jesus took His participation in our story to a whole new level when He became man.
He clothed Himself in our humble flesh; He submitted Himself to feel, and think, and hurt as we do. This is why He is such a good high priest for us, who understands us (see Hebrews 2:17-18, 4:14-16) – because He lived 33 years as one of us.
For the first time ever, God showed up as fully human and fully divine. For the first time ever, He was truly with us. He understood exactly what it meant to be among us - to be as we are.
It’s like this: Your best friend sprints on the track team. Because you love and support him, you faithfully attend all his races. Every time, you stand excitedly by the bleachers, screaming your heart out as he crosses the finish line.
You meet up with him for early morning training sessions, timing him, encouraging him, making observations, and offering feedback. You know when to tell him to take a break and when to push him to go harder.
But one day at a race, you do something different. As the runners line up at the starting line, you leave the benches and stride over to your friend.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, bewildered.
You smile and proclaim, “Today, I’m going to run with you.”
You position yourself next to your friend, put your foot in the block, and wait. As the air horn blasts, you take off, arms pumping, feet flying, neck-and-neck with your friend. Your chest feels tight, you’re gasping for air and yet wishing you wouldn’t breath because it hurts.
Wind whips past your face; everything around you is a blur. You hear sounds but can’t identify them. You see colors, but they streak past as an undistinguishable mass. Keeping your eyes fixed on what’s ahead of you, you focus on taking one step, and then another, and then another.
Occasionally, you glance at your friend. You see the sweat beading his forehead; his face is flushed. Yet his pace continues steadily. And in a moment, you understand.
You and your friend finally cross the finish line, and you embrace each other, a hot sweaty mess full of joy and relief. Something’s changed between the two of you; you’re closer than before. You’ve shared something together. Before, you watched from the outside; now, you have an intimate understanding of what’s it’s really like.
This is what Jesus did for us. He plunged into our experience. He partnered (and partners) with us in the life we live. He understands what we go through, not just intellectually, but in His heart; for He has lived on this earth, too. He is Immanuel, the God who is with us in every way.
And because Jesus came and made a way for us, He has become God within us. After Jesus finished His work on earth and ascended to His Father, He sent Holy Spirit to reside in us (see John 14:25-26, Ephesians 1:13-14). Not only is God forever where we are, but we carry Him within us always!
Our Immanuel has always been with us, and He will remain within us forever. As we progress through our life’s journey, Jesus – Immanuel – is drawing us closer and closer to Himself.
This season, let Him pull you closer into His loving arms. Embrace Jesus, Immanuel. With Him is a safe place to be.
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