The Christmas Gift We Leave Unopened

When Jesus entered into the world of Mary and Joseph their lives became…more difficult.

They became the scandalized couple of Nazareth. “Sure Mary, the baby is from God, OK.”

Not hard to imagine that they lost some friends. Mary’s pregnancy was anything but calm. Traveling for the census, having the child in a dirty manger. The list of difficulties because Jesus entered their lives is quite lengthy.

Jesus did not put on flesh and enter into Mary and Joseph’s world to make their lives safer and more comfortable. Jesus came to Mary and Joseph as Immanuel to be with them.

I think all too often we are looking for God to give us the gift of a better, more pleasant life. We keep looking, we keep waiting and all the while we silently become disillusioned with God or wonder if there is something wrong with us. Perhaps the problem is that we are overlooking God’s gift to us.

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Over in the corner, under the tree, there is a Gift that is neglected even by those who are followers of Christ. The Gift quietly waits. Waiting for us to remember once again how amazing it is that God loves us so much that he became a baby to be with us.

God might change your circumstances, he might not. Our joy has very little to do with God giving us our private wish list. Our joy is found in this one thing, Jesus (Immanuel) is with you and loves you no matter what you are going through.

You and I have a decision to make this Christmas season. Will we keep looking at the gifts from God (marriage, family, success, career) and waiting for them to satisfy the deepest aches of our soul? Or, will we quiet ourselves, remove the unnecessary distractions, and worship the Gift who loved us so much that he came to this earth to be with us and die for us?

Sometimes we talk about the presence of God, drawing close to Immanuel, and we quite honestly aren’t real sure what that means or how we do it. It does not require going to the top of a mountain or going on a spiritual retreat. HERE is a brief article that will help you even in the middle of all the busyness of a holiday season to enjoy being with Immanuel.

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23