Immanuel – A Mystery to Behold

Every year during Advent, I am reminded of the name of Jesus that assures us He is always with us. Each year I vow to carry the name and the reality into the new year, being careful not to pack it away with the other decorations and holiday “terms.” Yet, somehow I seem to lose this most transformational thought as the months scurry by and the pages of my calendar flip the days away.

Immanuel – God With Us. It is quite a mystery. Genesis informs us that Jesus, along with God and the Holy Spirit, was before time, preceding the creation of the world. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” (Gen. 1.26). The triune community has always been. John further speaks of the trinity and challenges our concept of time as he writes in John 1.1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”

In the fullness of time, when the world needed Him most, Jesus was born in the flesh and became a physical representation of God With Us. A mysterious way to save the world, indeed. Deity becoming human. Taking on all human characteristics, with feelings and emotions, bruised knees, dusty feet, hunger, and thirst. Yet without sin. A special place in His heart for His mother, and the innate yearning for community. Jesus fully engaged in life with those around Him. He laughed, He cried, and He felt great compassion for others. He represented God the Father. He embodied God With Us.

As we celebrate His physical birth and wait with anticipation for His second coming, let us not forget that He continues to be Immanuel – God With Us. He continues to be ever-present, a help in times of trouble, a celebrator, and giver of all things good. His presence is His greatest gift. Though a mystery to our finite minds, He is Immanuel – God With Us.