God With UsSample

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who buy Christmas presents far in advance and those I see in my local store's aisles on December 23. My wife is in the first group, and I'm in the second group. She goes to great lengths each year to get gifts for people she loves and cares about.

No matter what lengths you went to in preparing for Christmas this year, the truth is God went to greater lengths to pursue you and be with you. Not only did Jesus come into our darkness, but He wants to transform our darkness.

John's Gospel shows us the great lengths Jesus went to transform our darkness. Jesus pursued us. In John 1:1, we discover that Jesus was present with God at creation. "The light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world."

As God was coming to be with us, He brought His light into our world. John makes what that means for us clear in verse 12. "But to all who did receive Jesus and His light, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of natural descent, or the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God."

Then, in verse 14, John writes my favorite Christmas verse, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

The Christmas story is much more than a cute baby in a manger. At Christmas, we see the lengths Jesus is willing to go to pursue us. Though He'd been in heaven from the beginning of creation, Jesus left heaven to enter the darkness of this world. He came to us, full of grace and truth, and dwelt among us. Jesus didn't transform us from a great distance — instead, He moved in close. Jesus didn't send someone else — He came near us Himself. One translation of John 1:14 speaks of Jesus "moving into the neighborhood."

Later in John, we read, "For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John emphasized this theme again in 1 John 4 when he notes that our love of God is a response to the love God showed us.

Jesus pursued us. He came to earth even when we weren't pursuing heaven. He moved into our neighborhood when we weren't looking for Him. God with us means that we have hope to overcome our shame, fears, and darkness.

If things have seemed dark and depressing lately, I hope this plan has reminded you of two important truths. God can meet you where you are and transform you where you are. I'm so grateful that God is with us and that His light is greater than our darkness. I hope you realize the power of these three words—God with us—with greater power and clarity than you did before this plan.

It's been an honor to encourage your faith. Click here for complimentary access to God With Us: A Next Steps Guide, a resource to help you lean into God's presence this holiday season.