When I was a child, I knew that God was hovering over me. God was watching each and every move I made and was keeping tabs of all the things I did right and all of the things I did wrong.
When I was a teen, I had the notion that God was somewhere just not here. The world seemed to tell me that I could do my own thing and when I looked over my shoulder, God might be watching… or maybe not! It was likely that I was on my own and only when I went to church did I meet God and have to “fess up” to what I had done. Of course, if I didn’t go to church, then the less “fessin’ up” that had to be done, so church became a game of going only when I absolutely could not avoid it… usually Christmas and Easter. I guess you could have called me a “Lily” and “Poinsettia” as I now refer to those folks I see at church only twice a year. God seemed far away and I really felt okay about that.
When I went to college, I knew life had more meaning to it and a search for that meaning led me right back to church. I got involved with a college group at a local church and began attending. It didn’t hurt as well that my girlfriend went to the same group! We went on a mission trip that Spring Break to Philadelphia. We worked to help those who were in need. I realized then that life had it’s meaning in God’s call to serve others and worship. But still God seemed “up there and out there.” Finally as a grown up, I realized through Sunday school that God was present with me and with you. We do not worship a God who died many years ago, but a living God who, in three persons, has been revealed to us. This season we celebrate the human birth of one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, Jesus. Emmanuel means God with us. It may not seem that meaningful at first glance, but it is of total importance. God is not “out there” in space or up in the clouds. God is with us… then, now, and forever more. When we rejoice about the birth of Christ, we can rejoice that God chose us. God wanted to be one of us so that we might know the truth about God. God is no longer a total mystery. While we will never understand God in totality, we do know this… God has come to earth, lived a human life, died a human death, and has been raised from the dead. God has come to us through the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit and resides with us, among us, within us, and all about us now and forever more. God is no longer a stranger. God has the face of you and me… the face of a child. A face that loves, teaches, corrects, laughs, smiles, cries, suffers, and forgives. God is with us and we know that we can try to avoid God, run from God, claim to be separated from God, but Romans 8 tells us differently. Nothing keeps us separate from the love of God. God has chosen to love us and nothing can change that, whether we realize it or not. Isn’t that something to celebrate this Christmas and all throughout the year?
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