Emmanuel (Thoughts for this Christmas Eve)

Emmanuel is the very last thing that God should be. 

Hear me out. He is Almighty God, the one who breathed out the stars and calls them by name. He is the one who upholds the entire universe by the word of his power and in him all things consist. He is so Holy, so pure that God tells Moses that no man can look on God and live (Exodus 33:20). We see in Exodus that God demonstrated his power by enabling the Israelites to leave Egypt. He shows His power over all the Earth by commanding storms, insects, plagues and even death. For He is the very One who gives life. After God brings them out of Egypt, He gave them a covenant, a binding promise that required they worship Him alone for he is a holy God and his people should also be holy (Leviticus 11:45). Yet, what do the Israelites do? At their first opportunity they start worshiping another god that they made themselves. And how similar are we? How easily do we forget the God who has shown Himself powerful and mighty in our lives? How quickly do we run to other things like family, friends, money/things? In Exodus when God sees the Israelites making a golden calf to worship, He vows to destroy them in His anger. He tells Moses that He can no longer be among them because in their sin He would destroy them. But God made a promise and He does not break his promises. Moses reminds God that He brought Israel out of Egypt to show the world His greatness. God deserves a people who are perfect and set apart. We are a people who continue to run from him, a people who take his name in vain and worship all kinds of other things besides him just like the Israelites. We continue to forget who He is and what He has done and try to do things our own way. And yet, Jesus still chose to come. 

 

He is still Emmanuel, God with us. He chose to give up His power, His Majesty and glory and be born in human flesh as an infant. He chose to subject himself to be dependent on someone else. The Bread of Life chose to depend on someone else for his food. . . Why would he do this? The last thing that He should be is “with us” and yet tomorrow we celebrate the fact that this is exactly who He is. He chose to be God with us. He chose us even in our sin, even when He knows that we would continue to forsake him, even when He knew what it meant. He chose love and He chose Grace. Moses knew that if Israel did not have God going with them, they would be consumed in an instant. He pleads with the Lord to not make them go through the wilderness unless He went with them. And in Exodus 34 God responds, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness (mercy) for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” God reminds Moses of His promise. We are all guilty if we really think about it. And we all deserve His anger as did the Israelites. So then, how can He be God with us and be compassionate and gracious at the same time that He doesn't clear the guilty? 

 

Oh, what a glorious and wonderful answer it is! 

 

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus was born in order to die and take the wrath and anger that we deserve so that God can be both just in condemning sin and merciful in forgiving it. He is God with us! Though He cannot look on sin for He is too pure (Habakkuk 1:13), He can still be with us who are His because Christ came and made us pure and holy! 

 

So, may I ask you today, is God with you? Are you celebrating your redemption this season, or does all this sound completely crazy? I implore you to take some time and contemplate what it means that God chose to be Emmanuel.

 

May you all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas!