November 30, 2015
I will never forget the birth of my children. Katie and Nathan were born in an era when only a few parents knew the sex of their babies before they were born. The moment of birth was, “You have a baby girl!” on August 4, 1986. On December 9, 1988, the proclamation was, “You have a baby boy!”
The miracle of birth is one of the premier soul- stirring experiences of life. Holding my newborn babies! Meeting them for the first time! Miraculous! An unparalleled gift of Creator God!
God’s gift to us at Christmas was a baby. Jesus. Emmanuel—God with us! Imagine Mary’s wonder: “This is the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! My baby, lying in a manger staring up at a stable full of livestock!”
Emmanuel. God made flesh came to dwell with us.
John Wesley’s famous last words captured it well: “The best of all is, God is with us.” Indeed, He is our Emmanuel. Christmas in a nutshell. Life and salvation summed up: “God with us.”
Anticipate Him. Sense a fresh awareness of His being born anew in you this Christmas season.