God With Us

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

In the years before Jesus came to Earth, God and man were separate. A veil was hung in the temple, behind which only the Priests were allowed. It was behind this veil that the rites of atonement were performed. It was behind this veil that the priests of Israel, once a year, could come into the presence of God. The veil was a reminder to Israel that the sin of man kept him separate from the Most High. That God could not bear to be in the presence of Sin. It had been this way for generations.

But then, Jesus. 

God came out from behind the curtain and dwelt among fallen men. He walked our paths, ate our food, became one of us in order to bring us Home. God sent Jesus as a man, because, for a mortal man to cross over a chasm, a bridge must have its feet on both sides. Jesus, The Word, was with God and He was God, and he lived as a man to do what men were unable to do: to provide a Way back. 

When the Priests of Israel went, once a year, behind the veil in the temple, the best they could do was make a temporary covering of sins. A mask without a cure.When we go to God, our offerings are paltry, and insufficient. God wasn't interested in a covering. 

God wasn't interested in this religion of sacrifice and atonement, repeated once a year. He wasn't interested in visiting His children by proxy; He wanted a relationship with each one of His children. With you and with me, and with every single member of this sinful human race.

That is why, on the day Jesus -- God right here on Earth -- died, the Temple veil was torn. God was letting us know these days of religion were over. That He had once and for all offered Forgiveness and a true relationship with Him. It could once again be like the old days, when He would walk in the Garden with His Adam. When each one of us could finally be called, once again, His sons and daughters.

But it didn't start with Jesus' death; it began with His birth. Our renewed relationship with God truly began on the Day our Savior, Jesus Christ, came to Earth and dwelt as one of us. We weren't able to go to Him, so God, instead, came to Us. 

That's how it was, and that's how it is. God knows you can't come to Him, so instead, He comes to you. He reaches across the chasm we've built in our own Spirits, and asks only that you take His hand. 

 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

He Will Be Called: Prince of Peace

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

There is, perhaps, no greater time than the Christmas season to remember that Jesus is our Prince of Peace.

In the chaos of gift-shopping, and the usual, subsequent fretting over bills... in the working to catch up and make ends meet... in the worry and excitement that comes with seeing family... we get so caught up in celebrating the birth of Jesus that we often forget to take the time out and seek Him. To breathe. To meditate on our wonderful Savior. 

To find Peace. That all-too-elusive reality, so rare it can often feel like mere sentiment. 

Peace, for when my world is spinning out of my control; when the work is piling up, when the dishes and laundry and bedrooms and children all need cleaned; when the bills are coming in faster than the money to pay them; when everyone seems to be moving quicker than I can ever keep up.

Peace, for when my Spirit is frantic, then worn out, then restless again; when sleep won't come; when my well of tears is long since dry; when I wonder, to the depths of my soul, just how God expects me to succeed in the face of my own human tendency to fail. 

Peace, for when we're caught up in the wonder and the glory and the mystery of God, and are then reminded by the Enemy how truly unworthy we really are. 

One of my favorite songs is by Rich Mullins. It is a prayer, a cry, and a heartbroken plea:
Hold me, Jesus,
For I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my Glory
Would you be my Prince of Peace?

He Will Be Called: Everlasting Father

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

In today's culture a lot of people -- too many -- seem to believe the job of the Father begins and ends at conception. But in fact, the germination of new life is only one part of what we do. A father also cultivates that life. Trains that child up, and provides for her needs. In fact, I would argue that it is all that stuff -- the building and care of a family -- that truly makes one a Father. 

Joseph, Mary's husband, played no part in the conception of the child Jesus. Yet, here on Earth, he filled the role of father from the beginning. When he discovered his young wife-to-be was pregnant, his instinct was to run. Not his kid; not his responsibility. 

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[g] (which means “God with us”).
²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:20-25)

When Joseph took Mary as his wife, he also accepted the responsibility of Fatherhood to her child. Twice in this passage, we see it fell to Joseph to name the baby. Why? Because from that time on, Jesus was his son, too. It was a responsibility he took seriously, right from the beginning. He found a place to stay, warm and dry, if not ideal, for the birth of his son. He trained Him up, taking Him to synagogue and teaching Him how to live and behave. And he loved Him.

In turn, Jesus is the Everlasting Father. He cultivates the relationship with us, His family. He teaches us and builds us up. He molds us into men and women in his own image. 

I love my children, and do my best to train them up in the Way they should go. Someday, though, I'm not going to be here for them. I'll do what I can while I'm here, but someday I'll be taken from their midst, and they won't be able to turn to me and ask for advice or assistance, or just for the assurance of my love for them. 

But Jesus is their Everlasting Father. He loved them before they were born. He loves them -- and us -- still. And He always will.

And He Will Be Called: Mighty God

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)


In the second name Isaiah gives to the Messiah in his prophecy, God is making clear that this coming King will be God Himself. Indeed, the Jesus of Scripture bears this out. He is a healer, a miracle worker. But what's more, He is Mighty.

Sometimes, I try to imagine myself in the shoes of the Disciples, getting to know this man Jesus as, through the course of His ministry, he reveals more and more of His true nature. I imagine myself in a fishing boat, the tiny vessel being buffeted by water and heavy winds as the sound picks up to a frightening howl. Huddled and waiting for the rain, when a figure reveals itself in the distance, walking upon the angry waves. 

I imagine I, like the disciples, would be afraid. A ghost! A spirit traversing the waters, coming for us! 

And then His voice: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 

Peter, so relieved to hear his Master's voice, he just wants to run across the lake himself just to be nearer to the One who so boldly has stepped into the maelstrom. And when Jesus finally reaches the boat, to watch the winds immediately cease, to stand in awe of His presence, as His nature is finally revealed, and say with his Disciples, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33)

That is our Messiah: a God who can brave the depth of the sea and the roar of the wind, because He has total control over both. Who can whisper a word and calm a raging storm.  Who stared down even Death, and walked away Victorious. 

Are our own problems and struggles so great, when we match them against Him, who is called Mighty God?

And He Will Be Called: Wonderful Counselor

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

For many of us, our first prayer is a cry for help. Often, we're looking for a way out of some mess in which we've found -- or, usually, gotten -- ourselves. This cry for salvation will set the tone for our relationship with Him in the future. Salvation from sin. Help from trouble. And of course, there's nothing wrong with this -- it is in Jesus' very nature to assist in time of need. 

But sometimes, I find myself crying out for help because of a failure on my own part: the failure to look to Him first for guidance. We look at Scripture, and find Jesus healing, and preaching, and prophesying... but we don't look beyond to see Him as the Wonderful Counselor. The wise friend we can trust to be honest, forthright, and -- importantly -- always right. 

It's easy to go to our friends for advice on finances, or our marriage, or our children. But what about Jesus? I admit, I sometimes forget to ask Him. I'll ask advice from my dad, my friends, my pastor -- all of whom can offer wise counsel, for sure. But then I forget to ask God what He would have me do. 

Job was somebody in dire need of good counsel. His friends sought to give him advice, and failed miserably. His wife offered equally horrific advice ("curse your God and die," I believe). But through the noise, Job remembered where to look for true wisdom: “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his." (Job 12:13)

David, whose life was often fraught with threat and trouble, also knew to whom he could turn when he needed a word of wisdom. "I will praise the Lord who counsels me," he says in Psalm 16:7. "Even at night, my heart instructs me."

This week, I'm taking the time out to reflect on the names of the Messiah, given in Isaiah 9. Today, I remember He is rightly called "Wonderful Counselor," and it is my prayer that I take His name to heart. When I need advice, a word of wisdom, my God and my Savior is also my Wonderful Counselor, and I can always trust in His word.