God With Us
We have seen God at work in so many ways leading up to this long-awaited moment. And now it is here: the moment the Messiah, Jesus Christ, enters the world. As early as Genesis 3:15, the Messiah is promised by God to come and save. After years of prophetic silence and waiting, He is here, although arriving in a most unexpected way.
This moment changes everything.
The Birth of Christ
Luke’s account is beautiful and familiar. When I read this passage, I remember sitting on the floor of my grandparent’s basement on Christmas Eve, listening to my grandmother read these words from the Lord to the whole family. Whether you have heard these words many times or this is your first time hearing them, the Lord is speaking to you. His words never return void or empty (Isa 55:10–11); they are always full, always bursting with life, always providing hope and purpose. And they are for you.
As I pray and reflect on this remarkably beautiful passage, God is affirming His character to me. Here is what He is revealing to me through this moment where Christ enters the world:
God always fulfills His promises. In the waiting, God does not forget. He faithfully acts on His Word in His perfect time (2 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:24).
God is rich in wisdom (Romans 11:33). His way is the best way. While the people were surely expecting the Messiah to arrive as a strong warrior, God sent Jesus to enter the world as a baby — humble, lowly, dependent. But how else could the Savior of the world fully empathize with us? (Hebrews 4:14–16).
God loves us lavishly (1 John 4:9-10). God was willing to come down from heaven and take on flesh—to enter pain and suffering—to save sinners (you and me) by becoming the sacrifice for our sin. There is no greater way to demonstrate love (John 15:13).
God desires to be with us now and forever. Because God entered the world, He can now enter our hearts. Jesus made the way for us to be in relationship with God. He is the Way (John 14:6). When we place our faith in Him, He takes up residence inside us (Ephesians 1:13–14).
God’s with-ness changes everything.
The Beauty of Christ
John 1:14 holds some of the most beautiful words I have ever heard: The Word became flesh. The Word of God, Jesus Christ, God Himself: perfection and power and beauty and goodness and justice and love. He put on flesh, took on human form, and became like us (as we see in Luke 2) to show us God’s heart, to love us fully, and to save us completely. He came to where we are because we cannot get to where He is without Him — and He deeply desires to be with us.
This truth is unlike anything you can find in any other religion. Only one person entered the world as fully God and fully man with the sole purpose of making a way for all people to be saved — and to save whoever would believe in Him. This person is Jesus Christ.
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, John continues to confirm that Jesus is God. This means that because Jesus entered the world and walked the earth, we can be confident in who God is. We can deeply know and understand the heart of God by studying the life and way of Christ. And here’s who He is: grace and truth (John 1:14). One cannot exist perfectly without the other. Because God is just and must punish sin, He Himself came to become the complete payment for sin and offers salvation and forgiveness to all who believe in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 1:7–8).
The Brilliance of Christ
This is why the birth of Christ is so powerful, so brilliant, so relevant. Without this moment—without Christ entering the world—we would still be enslaved to sin with no way to God. But because Jesus came to earth and ultimately gave His life for us, we can be set free from sin and death and become children of God (Rom 8:1-4).
“But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children.”
– John 1:12
Friend, I hope you realize now more than ever that God loves you with a magnanimous, unending love. Jesus is the proof. I encourage you to take some time to consider and treasure these truths about Jesus as Mary did (see Luke 2:19). He is not distant but present. He is not far away but near. He has not ignored you; He pursued you. He is Immanuel, God with us (Matt 1:23). And He changes everything.
