How was your Christmas?

Precious Prodigal's Post for 12/29/2014 is at = http://bit.ly/1xtwkf7 Title: How was your Christmas? Hashtags: #EmmanuelGodWithUs Please "Like" us and "Share" this post with your Facebook Friends

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

We’re sometimes asked after Christmas, “Was Santa good to you? As if that’s what Christmas is really about. The reverse of that is being frustrated if we can’t afford to give our loved ones the things we think they want. But neither of those things really has anything to do with Christmas.

Even if we’re not silly enough to get caught up in the commercialized version of Christmas, whether giving or getting, it’s still likely we have an idealistic picture of what Christmas should be like. Roasting chestnuts, building snowmen, singing carols, and the whole family gathering around a tree or a table smiling and enjoying one another’s company…what’s wrong with wanting that?

The answer, of course, is there’s nothing wrong with wanting that at Christmas or at any other time. However, making ourselves miserable because we don’t have that “Hallmark” holiday isn’t constructive. In resenting what we don’t have, we are the creators of our own unhappiness. More than that, those things have nothing to do with the real meaning of Christmas.

That meaning can be summed up in one word: Emmanuel. Emmanuel: God with us. Stop your mind from racing or even from grieving for just a minute to consider that. In the fullness of time…that is the perfect time, Christ came and they “would call His name Emmanuel: God with us.” (Matt 1:23)

I grieved my brother Ralph this year as I have for the past five Christmases before this one. That he was out in an ice storm, became confused, and died alone in the woods was part of my sorrow. However, Ralph’s life verse was “A man deviseth his path, but God directs his steps.” (Prov 16:9) We might think he was lost in the woods, but God knew exactly where he was and had, in fact, directed Ralph’s steps. And my precious brother did not die alone…“Emmanuel: God with us” was there.

Whatever your circumstances, the God who cannot lie has said, “I am with you.” Has your spouse betrayed or abandoned you? God will never forsake you. (Deut 31:6) Do you feel forgotten this Christmas? God’s promise is that He will never forget you, that He has written your name on the palm of His hand.” (Isa 49:15-16) He is “Emmanuel: God with us.”

Do you feel rejected or abandoned by your parents? God’s promise is that when your father and mother forsake you, He will lift you up. (Ps 27:10) If you’re young, God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Jer 1:5), and even in your old age, God says, “I am He and I will carry you.” (Isa 46:4) That heartbreak you’re carrying isn’t news to Him. He has walked this path before you, and He is even now walking it with you. He is Emmanuel…God with us.

If we could grasp and internalize that one truth, it would erase resentment. It would eliminate the envy we sometimes feel…whether we’re envious of someone’s material possessions, their faithful spouse, or their healthy, successful kids. And while it probably won’t get rid of every sorrow, it might give us back some of our joy.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, reminded ourselves that the real meaning of Christmas is “Emmanuel: God with us?”