Matthew 1:23 

As Christmas quickly approaches, I must seriously remind myself and the saints that this is a spiritual event and not a carnal one. This is not about mistletoes and jingle bells; sleighrides – eating, drinking and being merry. Christmas is really about the Incarnation – divinity taking up residence in humanity – God in human flesh appearing – the Creator assuming the human frailty of His creatures. It is as sublime as Matthew describes it “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” (Matthew 1:23). 

To me, what a most blessed thought – God with us! He specifically left the portals of glory to come and tabernacle with us, to move into our perishing neighborhoods and lives. What a supreme difference His coming to us has made. It has changed the entire landscape of our lives. His coming has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light. It has brought unspeakable joy and peace into our hopeless, dried-up, moribund existence. It has certainly revolutionized our world. With renewed excitement and energy, we declare and remind ourselves that “God is with us” and rejoice again in this blessed fact and all that it entails. Every single day of 2023, Emmanuel camped out with us and showed up in the most remarkable and wonderful ways. 

This is what the early church celebrated and may God help us today to return to the simplicity and the deep spirituality of what Christmas really represents. It signally commemorates the precious birth of our glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It points us back to the fact “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). May we find it impossible to forget the angel’s message which first commanded us not to fear, then calmly stated “. . . for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Instead of having another panic – attack and falling apart may only glorious thoughts of the Incarnation flood and fill our minds this Christmas season. May the Almighty help us to keep it intensely spiritual this year. Let joyful worship continuously rise from our lips and hearts to our magnificent Redeemer, every day during Advent. 

Concerning His triumphant coming into our world, one writer said, “The Eternal One entered time. The All-powerful made himself vulnerable and the All-holy exposed Himself to temptation and in the end the Immortal died.” Again, what fascinating truths are embodied in our message and celebration of Christmas! We solemnly object and loudly protest the shameful secularization of Christmas. We insist it is not about stress and worry and fear and anxiety. It’s not about hustle and bustle; about gift-giving and gift-getting. It’s not about materialism and over-spending. We simply choose to return to the spirituality of Christmas. We, joyously celebrate Emmanuel – God with us!