God with us

God entered this Earth a little over 2,000 years ago as only God could: in innocence and in love. Through generations, the Creator had had many different encounters with His creation through direct conversations, visions, prompts or dreams. He had also sent emissaries like the archangel Gabriel, carrying His assignments in the wings of their heavenly whispers. God had a plan. This time however His presence would be seen by all, heard by all, felt by all. God was coming down to Earth to fully comprehend what we go through, what we long for, what we fear and what we think we need - He came with empathy in His holy veins and breath in His eternal spirit. God came down to choose us, His children, over His very own linage - so that we wouldn’t have to continue to wonder and wander, and be lost in a fallen world. He came to adopt us into His family for once and for all. He came to fight for us with a baby’s cry. He came in gentleness and in wisdom - never to be forgotten again.  He came so that we would finally understand.  The day Jesus was born, the Bible says, the angels sang in Heaven - “Suddenly, a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!” [Luke 2:13-14] - and God, we  can imagine, scratched His chin and grinned in amazement at the beauty of it all: a baby, His flesh and blood, was born - the captain of His army, the reason for all, perfect, vulnerable, small. The lamb of God. The Prince of Peace. Jesus was a promise kept and is a constant reminder of the faithfulness of God. He truly could have chosen a million other ways to connect the dots - perhaps one that didn’t involve the torture and public execution of His son. Surely He didn’t need that excruciating moment in time to descent to the pit of hell and defeat death with a resurrection. God is God - He can eliminate the devil’s very existence without the theatrics of crucifixion. He holds all power and all might, despite what we may think. He could have also simply walked away from all of us - weary of our perpetual imperfections, always willing to choose Him last. But God was always trying to make a point - long before Jesus was born. He wanted us to know that His plan was unmovable and unchanging - and that His knowledge of all time was accurate and never subject to interpretation.  He wanted us to understand that His love was perfect. And so, His prophets announced the Messiah’s coming for generations - and God waited for the perfect time, with the patience of the One who holds all the answers. The time came. A virgin was chosen - pure, devoted, good - and the wheels of eternity were finally set in earthly motion. Her faith was stronger than her fears, which is all God ever needed from us: to move forward in trust. The mother of His son is the mother of our faith. In her we understood how to let go and let God - and through her Jesus was given to us all. Today we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. It is a celebration, a dedication of our love and our faith to a God that has always known who we are and  to whom we belong to. Today we say Yeshua’s name out loud and we hear that baby’s giggle in the night - born to save the world. A task for a giant in the tiny hands of a newborn. He did it for us. He was born for us. Heaven came to Earth because of us. Nothing compares to that. Happy Birthday, Emmanuel. God is with us.