At this time of year, there are a lot of people who feel all alone. Maybe they’ve lost a loved one recently, and now this is a very painful time of year for them. Maybe a marriage broke up, or a relationship is strained, or there is something else going on that makes this one of the most difficult times of the year.
Jesus knows a lot about this, because he was the loneliest individual who ever lived. Yes, Jesus had his disciples, but they pretty much abandoned him in his hour of need. And the Scriptures tell us that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11 NKJV). The Bible says he was “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NKJV). When he bore the sin of the world, even God the Father turned his face away momentarily. Jesus knows all about loneliness.
Is that a description of you? Is this a time of anxiety for you? Do you feel as though you have no one at all? Here is the message God has come to bring us: Immanuel – God with us. Matthew’s gospel tells us, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us” (1:23 NKJV).
What a staggering thought. That is the essence of the Christian life. All other religions basically say you must do. Do thus and so, and maybe you will reach nirvana. Do this, and maybe you will earn the approval of God. Do that, and maybe you will get to heaven. Christianity, in contrast to all the other religions of the world, says done – not do, but done. It is done – done by God himself … for us. Why? Because of Immanuel. God is with us.
Jesus has promised every person who has put his or her faith in him that he would never leave or forsake them. And he has said that he is with us until the end of the age. That is the bottom line. He, and he alone, will meet our needs – not Christmas presents and not even family and friends. Even they will let us down in some way, shape, or form. We all let people down, and we are all let down by people. But Jesus never will let us down. He alone is the answer to loneliness.
Without question, one of the most remarkable teachings in the Bible is that Christ himself enters into the human heart and lives there. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23 NKJV).
Jesus was saying, “My Father and I want to come and set up house with you. We want to live inside you.” That means we are not alone in life. God is with us, no matter what we are going through. Are you going through a time of difficulty or crisis? God is with you.
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God says in the book of Isaiah, “When you go through deep waters and great trouble I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2 NKJV). Are you going through a river of difficulty this Christmas? Maybe you’re in the fire of oppression. You are not alone. God is with you.
Maybe your marriage fell apart this year, or maybe it is hurting. Perhaps your children have forgotten about you. God is with you. God has not forgotten about you. Maybe you are isolated in a hospital or prison cell. You are not alone in that place. God is with you.
This is the essential message of Christmas: God is with us. It should touch us deeply to think that God is interested in someone like me or someone like you, to think that he wants to be a part of all that we say and do.
Consider the words of this 12-century hymn:
O come, O come, Immanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
O drive away the shades of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
We may sing the words O come, O come, Immanuel, but do we really want him to come into our world? Do we really want him to be a part of our lives, not just at Christmas but all year long? Christmas is almost over. It is a long buildup, but soon the presents will be opened and the wrapping will be thrown away. The tree will be set out on the curb for the trash collector to pick up (or put in storage for next year if it is an artificial one). The new toys will be played with, and then the kids will grow tired of them and move on to other things.
Immanuel – that is where our focus should be. You might say, “But I’m so busy. I have so many things going on.”
How about making some time for him? Let him come in and be a part of all that you say and do this Christmas.
O come, O come, Immanuel.
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