The long-awaited pronouncement finally came. Messiah had come. The promised seed of woman, the incomparable Prince of Glory, the Savior of souls had arrived. Emmanuel, as Isaiah prophesied, was His name: God with us. The most unthinkable, unbelievable, yet undeniable event in history occurred at the birth of Christ: God became man.

This is not only a foundational doctrine of our faith; it is the one of the most comforting truths in history. God came to us. God became one of us. He placed Himself in the human experience. The Creator condescended to the elements of creation. He did this so that He could sympathize with our grief and sorrow. He knew what it was like to cry, to sweat, to grow weary, to become hungry, to laugh, to sing, to suffer. He experienced life “with” us.

Today, He is still with us. This is the reality of Christmas. He is with us in our pain. He is with us in victories. He is with us in our loneliness. He is with us at all times. Christmas not only reminds us that Christ came, but that Christ abides. No, Christmas is not a once-a-year holiday from work and school; it is an ever-present truth about the ever-presence of Christ. Because God is for us, He is in us, and forever with us! Emmanuel: a name like none other.