God With Us | Northstar Church

“So God throws open the door of this world—and enters as a baby. As the most vulnerable imaginable. Because He wants unimaginable intimacy with you. What religion ever had a god that wanted such intimacy with us that He came with such vulnerability to us? What God ever came so tender we could touch Him? So fragile that we could break Him? So vulnerable that His bare, beating heart could be hurt? Only the One who loves you to death.” -Ann Voskamp.

There are mysteries that will never truly be solved. Christmas is one of those mysteries because it causes us to reflect and ponder the idea of Immanuel: God with Us. God entered the world as a baby. God entered our little corner of the universe. How do we make sense of that?

We try to understand the mystery of God with us. But it’s humanly impossible to understand what happened on that first Christmas. The Bible explains what Jesus did this way: “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form.” (Philippians 2:5-7). He took the humble position of a slave: imagine the president of the United States leaving all his position and authority and moving to an impoverished third-world country as a slave. But that example doesn’t even come close to what Christ did. Jesus didn’t just look like God, He was always God. Jesus took on human form without changing who He is innately and eternally. How do we understand that?

What kind of knowledge, creativity, and power did it take for God to become an infant, without becoming one less bit God than He was before? How could He “who fills all things everywhere with himself.” (Ephesians 1:23) confine Himself to a human womb and yet still be able to fill all things?

Another mystery is that our Savior did it all in order to die in place of the human beings He created. How can we truly appreciate or understand all the lengths He was willing to go to bridge the chasm so we could be called “children of God” (1 John 3:1 ESV) The fact that, as Christians, we are adopted by God and are his children is amazing. And not red-headed step children, either. In Romans 8:15-17, we read: “…Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory…” I’m not sure we can comprehend this side of eternity what that means fully.

So on Christmas, consider what our Savior has given up and to what lengths He has gone for the sake of love.

Discussion Questions:

How do we put the mystery of God with us in perspective?
Name one way you can live differently based on the fact of God being with us?