What I Know

Matthew repeats what the prophet Isaiah had spoken.

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son,
and they shall call His name Immanuel,"
which is translated "God with us."

The idea of God being with man was a huge deal
because up until that time,
God had been in the garden with a chosen few,
and in a burning bush for a chosen one,
and in a pillar of cloud by day
and a pillar of fire by night
for a chosen people,
and later He was housed in the Holy of Holies
in a tabernacle made by man.

God spoke through the prophets
and then He was silent for quite some time
between Malachi and Matthew
and suddenly He shows up
and says that He is coming to live with us!
To be with us!
To make His home with us and in us!
And this gift of His presence is not just offered
to one, or a few, or a chosen people.
This gift is offered to all of us!

And He became flesh and dwelt among us
and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth,
and of His fullness we have all received,
and grace for grace.


Don't miss the wonder of it all.

Jesus, being in the very bosom of the Father,
declared what God was like through His life.

In the prime of His life,
He began to declare that He was the Son of God,
come to take away the sins of the world.

Up until this time,
the blood of perfect animals
was sacrificed to atone for the sins
of mankind,
so people could relate to a perfect God.

But now,
Jesus would sacrifice His own life
as an atonement for sin-
a payment to justify us before God
so we could always and forever
approach the throne of God with boldness
and find help in our time of need.

And this I love.

When Jesus was on the cross,
He cried out, "It Is Finished!!!"
with all the triumph He could muster.

When He did that,
the veil in the temple was torn
from top to bottom.

God was behind that veil in a small area of space
known as the Holy of Holies.
Only a special priest could enter that room
to make atonement for the sin of the people.
Yes, God is omnipresent
but people could only approach Him
in a certain way at a certain place and time
and through a special person.

But now, the hands of God Himself
took that veil and tore it from top to bottom
so we could enter the Holy of Holies
through the blood of Christ
without a human mediator
between us and God.

Not only could we enter in
but He could come out.
He could come out and be with us.
Immanuel.
God with us.

And everyday,
in sorrow, trouble, pain,
joy, prosperity, and hope-
God is Immanuel.
God is with us.

And that is the most important thing
I know about anything.
I can't get over it.
It amazes me still.

When I am all wrong in my heart and my spirit
and I think about that simple truth,
I stop thinking about how wrong I am
and I start thinking about how He is with me
and will never leave me or forsake me
and then I know anew,
that all of His rightness
consumes all my wrongness
and all I can think about
is how thankful I am
that He is here with me
and I smile and kiss His face.
And I bow and cry,
"Holy, Holy."
And I shake my head
and wonder,
'How can it be?
How can it be?
He is with me.
With me!"