EMMANUEL — God With Us

“Listen! A virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as ‘Emmanuel,’ which means in Hebrew, ‘God became one of us.’”  Matthew 1:23 TPT

One of the most amazing truths we celebrate at Christmas is this: God became one of us. Think for a moment where He came from. Jesus left glory, honour, the very throne room of heaven—surrounded by adoring angels, infinite power, purity, majesty. But more than that: He stepped out of eternity and into time. Instead of surveying all ages at once as the Alpha and Omega, He entered our fragile human timeline. Born not in the splendor of heaven, but as a helpless baby.

Imagine: omnipotent God, stooping to infancy. Fragile newborn in a dusty stable. Homeless, surrounded by animals, born under conditions that would shame any culture. A young virgin mother, a man of no great status — socially ostracised, under suspicion, overshadowed by scandal and hardship. And yet — Emmanuel, God with us.

Then, as the story unfolds, risk pursues Him: born into a subjugated, occupied Israel. Chased into exile to Egypt for His life. God did not snuff out danger with divine fireworks. He said to His earthly father: flee. Jesus became a refugee, a displaced child far from home. Truly one of us.

He grew. He learned to walk before He ran, learned submission instead of sovereign command. The One who had always known everything learned to live under human parents. He navigated childhood, adolescence, adulthood — with all the uncertainties, the seasons, the growing pains. He waited until His hour — like at Cana, where He turned water into wine — not because He lacked power, but because He submitted to divine timing.

More than that: He joined us emotionally. He knew tension. He wept. He grieved. He felt trauma, endured pressure, sweat drops of blood under crushing weight. Misunderstanding, rejection, betrayal, lies. Family tension, alienation. Even as He hung on a cross, those who once praised Him cried out, “Crucify Him!” He experienced the full bitter taste of human suffering.

And so more than sympathy — He offers empathy. Whatever you are walking through: loss, pain, anxiety, loneliness, rejection, disappointment — He’s been there. He doesn’t just see it — He’s felt it. He knows your tears, your horror, your injustice. He stands with you, having walked your path.

This is not salvation from a distance. This is mercy in flesh. This is Emmanuel: God with us. On this Christmas Day, we celebrate a God of humility, of uncanny kindness, of tender empathy.

As Brutchko, the missionary to Amazon tribes once put it, “God has come down. He walks our paths and journeys on our trails.” 

So today — whether you are soaring in joy or weighed down by sorrow — know this: Jesus understands. He’s walked it. He stands with you now. Receive His presence. Let Emmanuel — God with us — be your rest, your hope, your comfort.

Merry Christmas!