Emmanuel

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

and shall bring forth a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which being interpreted is ‘God with us.’”

Matthew 1:23

Emmanuel—God with us. This name, given by God to his Son, sums up the incarnation. God lives among us. The Eternal Word becomes flesh and dwells with us. The God who upholds the entire universe by his word is held and carried in human arms. Almighty God, who created mountains, oceans, and galaxies with a single word, now lies helpless and vulnerable in a young mother’s lap. The sovereign King of Eternity is now the son of an unmarried couple. The One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills becomes a part of a pathetically poor family. The Son of God, who had eternally existed in the divine splendor of God’s intimate presence, draws his first breath amidst the acrid aroma of manure. The only begotten God, who resides eternally in the bosom of the Father, now sleeps in an animal’s feeding trough. This is Emmanuel—God with us!