God Is With Us | 5 Christmas ReflectionsSýnishorn

The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel. –Matthew 1:23

God is with us

The first Christmas after a loss in our family, was different. Our usual traditions, such as hosting a festive Christmas Eve dinner, didn’t happen. Instead, we tried—some days better than others—to focus on the gift of God becoming human in order to be with us. Christ, Immanuel, would comfort us in our grief and reassure us of His presence.

This idea of Jesus as Immanuel in Matthew is unique to the Gospels. Matthew tells the story through Joseph’s eyes, the man to whom Mary was pledged to be married. In the ancient Near East, a betrothal was a legally binding covenant. So when Joseph found out that Mary was expecting a child who wasn’t his own, he pondered how not to “disgrace her publicly” and to “break the engagement quietly” (Matthew 1:19). But God’s angel reassured him that the child was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). The angel quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying the child would be Immanuel, “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23).

For Joseph, “God is with us” meant a unique invitation to accept Mary as his wife and raise this amazing child. For believers in Jesus, “God is with us” means the promise that we’ll never be alone, whether we face grief, pain, or hardship. May we cling to that truth as we celebrate the gift of Immanuel. – AMY BOUCHER PYE

How could your life change if each day you considered that Jesus was present with you? How could you incorporate this practice of pausing and remembering Him in your daily routine?

Dear Jesus, You’re with me every day. Please help me to be conscious of this wonderful and life-changing truth. Amen.