God With Us

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

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Matthew 1:23

Have you ever thought about why God sent Jesus? It's pretty amazing when you sit with it. God could have chosen any number of ways to save us. But He sent His Son to fix our broken relationship with Him.

The Bible tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus didn't wait for us to get our act together before rescuing us. He met us in our mistakes and mess-ups and said, "I'll pay it for you."

Back in the Old Testament, Adam and Eve fell into sin, and we couldn't have a direct relationship with God anymore. Way to go, you two. But in reality, they may have done us a favor. Because the fall is what set the stage for God to come closer than we ever could have imagined. Back then, you paid for your sins with an animal sacrifice. But God wasn't going to leave it there. He sent His Son to live among us and die for our sins once and for all. Jesus brought light, love, freedom, grace, acceptance, joy, peace, and hope.

He gave us a chance to have a relationship with God.

God named Him "Immanuel" because it means "God is with us." He chose to send Jesus even when we'd given Him every reason not to. And Jesus chose to live among us. To be close enough to touch us.

So let's live the life Jesus offered. Let's live like He did, close enough to touch the people who need it. To be with people. To love people. Because Jesus loved us. And if we want to share Jesus, we've got to show Him in the way we live. That's how we show an unbelieving world what true hope looks like.

It won't be easy. We will fail. But we get up and keep showing up, and that's what counts.

Be Nice. Grace Wins.

FMJ