Is God With Us? And Why? - Part 2

A Christmas Meditation 

 

In Part 1, I introduced the idea of God wanting to be with us.  This is crucial in our understanding of the term Emmanuel, as much more than just taking for granted that God is with us.  In this second and last part of this meditation, we take a closer look at the great significance of our God wanting to be with us and the eternal impact of our understanding and acceptance of this fact.

How did God relate to us from the start? Well, if we read Genesis 3, at the very beginning of our creation, God is walking and talking with Adam and Eve. Sadly, we don’t read too far along and things go south.  For some ill-thought reason, they disobeyed God, and broke their fellowship with God. And what occurred was a blindness that every single person that was born into this world experience; we’d all be blind to the things of God. We’d start off with a demand to have our own needs met and focus our attention on self or others to meet those needs.  And we’d be doing it by our own methods.  Scholars call it Humanism. And if ever we think we are good enough to reach God’s perfect standards, we are sadly mistaken.  It is imperative that if we are going to appreciate the magnitude of God desiring to be with us, that we need to see ourselves as we truly are:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

     They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that  doeth good, no, not one.  Romans 3:10-12    

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  Psalms 53:2-3

Scripture is clear.  We do not and will never measure up to the standards set for us.  But it is not God at fault.  Clearly it is us.  For we have rejected a merciful God who has provided a way to know Him (He actually offered up His own life to do this), and instead we have gone our own way.  Rejection of God was never what God intended, and the results have been catastrophic.  God designed us in His own image, and we are made to worship Him and fellowship with Him and others.  He wanted a family, He wanted fellowship, and He wants all of his own children to get along.

 Why do you think God would go to the lengths that He did when he sent Jesus to this earth as an innocent, helpless, and vulnerable baby?  Talk about having to trust people to look after him!  And then he would allow Him to be crucified on the cross at the hands of the cruel Roman soldiers who would ultimately carry out His death sentence; this sacrifice that ultimately would save us all from certain eternal death without God.  This sacrifice applies to all who call on the name of the Lord and continues to miraculously change lives to this very day.  Are you in need of a Savior to deliver you from your sin nature today? Come to Jesus; He is ever ready to forgive. You’ll never regret it.

 What does Emmanuel, God wanting to be with us, say about God? Let’s bring it down to our level of what we can understand. Why would God want to be our friend when our hearts are evil, and we love our sin, and we are enemies of God (see Romans 5:10)?  Why would He want to come to this earth and go to these great lengths to be with us?  I want to emphasize again and again that yes, we sing carols about Emmanuel God with us, that Jesus came to this earth as a baby and we all know the manger story.  We all know the Easter story, but let’s put this in a real perspective here.  God is with us, yes, but let’s let this sink deeply into our soul – God wants to be with us in spite of our inherent godless and sinful nature. 

 If this doesn’t somehow make us pause and reflect on this incredible offer from a perfect and holy God, then I don’t know what would.  Do we just take the Bible and God and Jesus for granted? Or are we truly and humbly thankful and grateful that He would want to be with us?  I’ll take it further – do we welcome Him into our heart and into our life at the level where we live?

I think this is a crucial issue in all that I’m talking about today – I’m going to ask an important question.  Is Jesus welcome in your life? Think about friends you look forward to getting together with, or you talk about things you enjoy.  Who do you talk on the phone with or text most often?  Maybe you go for coffee, or you go shopping together.  Maybe you go bowling or have a golfing partner.  Perhaps you’re in Bible study, and you go to church together.  You look forward to seeing your friends because they make you feel loved and they make you feel accepted.  They pray for you, they hug you when they see you, they love on you. Do you want to be with people who lift you up, that you have fun with, and that listen to you and care about what you think and what you say?  Well, how much more does Jesus feel about being with us?  He cares about absolutely everything that we care about.  He created us for His purposes and pleasure!  He rejoices over us!  And He’s into the details! He knows the number of hairs on our head. He calls us by name.  He wants to bear your burdens, all of them!  He’s the best friend you’ll ever have, He loves you unconditionally, warts and all, or wrinkles or whatever imperfections you have; He doesn’t care about those things.  He cares about YOU not the packaging! We are all imperfect, and He loves us just as we are! And He’ll never leave you or forsake you. Maybe others will, but Jesus never will. 

We think of the disciples and how they were imperfect and full of flaw. Why did Jesus choose these 12 as His closest confidants and friends? Most were mere fishermen, blue collar workers, unlearned as far as scholarly knowledge went.  They failed Jesus, especially at the end when they all fled in fear after Jesus was arrested.  Thinking about how flawed they were gives me such hope and such an appreciation for the kind of God we serve, right?  So, what then is God looking for in a friend?

I believe the answer is simple.  He wants a friend who wants Him.  The disciples left all to follow Him because they recognized the great worth in knowing and following Jesus.  But the crucial thing is, do we invite him into our life without hesitation?  Do we spend time with him?  Do we make a point of being thankful, and do we worship Him and praise Him simply because He deserves that for Who He is to us? I think we need to take time to think about how we feel about God and our relationship with Him because he longs to be with us. I’m not just saying this. It says in Revelation 3:20:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 God doesn’t demand a relationship: He asks for one.  He stands at the door, and knocks, and He waits.  He never barges in. He’s a perfect gentleman. He longs for us to open that door, and let Him in, and have fellowship with us. Think about this; if someone who loves you with their life (could be anybody, your husband, wife, parent), and they love you so much they just want to spend precious time with you, but you fail to open the door, and just ignore it.  How would your loved one feel?  How does God feel? Remember, He made us in His own image so He definitely feels what we do – pain, rejection, sorrow, joy, love.  Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, no one stayed up with Him to pray, and the agony He endured all alone. 

 Remember who God is. Remember these are all His choices – He doesn’t have to reach out to us.  But He longs to.  He wants to.  When we get too busy do we really know what we are missing out on? Fellowship with Jesus brings so much benefit to our life I can’t even begin to list all the benefits. For me I have a sense of peace, I have joy, I feel loved and uplifted.  Many times I am given words of knowledge that I can’t even describe it, it is so profound. I’m taken out of my stressful life for that time.  Time spent with Jesus, Emmanuel, is so so precious I covet every second I can be with Him and listen and learn.

I think about Jesus’ good friends Martha and Mary mentioned in Luke 10.  Jesus came for a visit and Martha was preparing a meal for them. Meanwhile, her sister Mary sat at Jesus feet and listened to His teachings.  Martha didn’t like that she was doing all the work and told Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her.  But here we have Jesus famous words in response that remind us what is really most important after all.

      And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.  Luke 10:41-42

Think about what you’re going to do this season, rather than be stressed out, to spend precious time with the Lord.  He’s waiting for you to respond to Him and He wants to be with you.  No one’s forcing us to be with the Lord; it’s all by choice every single day. But it’s the most rewarding place to be – in the presence of the Lord, and in sweet fellowship with Him, sitting at His feet while learning His incredible, life-giving ways. Many might feel alone this season with no one to celebrate with.  But remember this:  we are never truly alone.  What a Friend we have in Jesus!

Please go to this link for steps to accepting Jesus into your life. Please don’t delay. Today is the day of salvation.