In the first verse of this Advent carol Jesus is called Emmanuel. Emmanuel is a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”.
It was some long years (too many!) after I became a Christian that I finally understood that Christianity was about relationship rather than religious observance. Accepting this truth at once sets us free to dedicate our lives to being disciples of Jesus Christ. We accept Him not only as our Saviour but also as our Lord.
Matthew in his Gospel declares this truth, that the newborn Jesus is to be God with us: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us”.
Now, I know that it means He and I are permanently together. I am in His company, knowing his acceptance, his support, his purpose placed within me. This is not just Him having a general interaction with humankind, but a personal one-to-one intimate friendship that requires my dedication to follow Him, to be His disciple.
“God with me” is the greatest truth in my life. It requires me to make a daily decision to place myself in His company, but the rewards that brings are immense. For me that “with” is not just a physical proximity but an interaction, a permanent readiness on His part to share with me, to listen to me, to provide for me, to bless me – as I choose to stay close to Him and live out my life in his way and fulfil His purposes.
And I am blessed! As we look at the descriptions in the following verses of the hymn over the coming weeks we will see that His presence is able to bring restoration, revelation, authority and power. It is my testimony that He can and will bring all these things into the life of Christians. He does it for me and He will do it for you!In the first verse of this Advent carol Jesus is called Emmanuel. Emmanuel is a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”.
It was some long years (too many!) after I became a Christian that I finally understood that Christianity was about relationship rather than religious observance. Accepting this truth at once sets us free to dedicate our lives to being disciples of Jesus Christ. We accept Him not only as our Saviour but also as our Lord.
Matthew in his Gospel declares this truth, that the newborn Jesus is to be God with us: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us”.
Now, I know that it means He and I are permanently together. I am in His company, knowing his acceptance, his support, his purpose placed within me. This is not just Him having a general interaction with humankind, but a personal one-to-one intimate friendship that requires my dedication to follow Him, to be His disciple.
“God with me” is the greatest truth in my life. It requires me to make a daily decision to place myself in His company, but the rewards that brings are immense. For me that “with” is not just a physical proximity but an interaction, a permanent readiness on His part to share with me, to listen to me, to provide for me, to bless me – as I choose to stay close to Him and live out my life in his way and fulfil His purposes.
And I am blessed! As we look at the descriptions in the following verses of the hymn over the coming weeks we will see that His presence is able to bring restoration, revelation, authority and power. It is my testimony that He can and will bring all these things into the life of Christians. He does it for me and He will do it for you!
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
John Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author’s name and website address are included at the end of the article. Thank you.
Leave a Reply