Is God Really With Us? (Podcast–10 min)
We call it the Christmas story, but it was proclaimed long, long ago, seven hundred years before it happened:
Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23
One only has to look at the world around us, the news media, the social media, etc., to see the dire situations that prevail around the globe. In my own lifetime, it seems that everything has gone from bad to worse. The wars, the violence, the pestilence, the immorality, have all increased, seemingly exponentially, and I often wonder how much worse it can get, how much longer we can endure. Perhaps the advent of social media has enabled us to see what we didn’t see before, making known what was previously hidden, making it seem like things are worse. There is no doubt that media innovations have made us all more aware of global happenings, as though they are happening in our own back yard, impacting our perspective of the state of the world–and the news is rarely good. I’m not sure our minds are designed to process and retain so much negative information, but nevertheless, we do.
Every year, as the calendar winds to a close, however, we enjoy the sights and sounds of the Christmas season. It seems to stand in stark contrast to the insanity that plays out in so much of the news we hear daily. It is always an exciting time of year for me. The shorter days are met with the beautiful light displays every evening throughout the city, the ornaments, the decorated trees, the Christmas music in the stores and on the radio, and a hushed expectation of the day when we will feast, celebrate, and give gifts. Our homes come alive with decorations and smells of candles, cookies, and home cooking. More than any other time of year, our attention is drawn away from the perils of world events and situations, and we focus on each other–friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, the elderly, and the less fortunate. We become a whole lot more giving and thoughtful of each other.
The tidings of the season are Peace, Joy, and Hope–always a welcome message in a world of turmoil. But one has to wonder where these good tidings go once the season is over. More importantly, is the message a mere temporary distraction packaged in an empty box that will never deliver the hopeful promises, or worse, an elaborate scheme designed to simply pacify, for the moment, the masses of people, and to gain a good chunk of their hard earned income?
It is unfortunate that the increased secularization of so many holidays throughout the years has caused their original meaning and purpose to become submerged amidst their commercialization, a neutral zone meant to accommodate a pluralistic population while feeding the ever turning economic wheel. While society as a whole benefits from this increased spending, it is short-lived, and pales in comparison to the greater intended result of the original message. Ironically, the Christmas message is for all peoples everywhere, yet often gets pushed aside as just another religious observance that is relevant to only its adherents. A further irony is that this message is increasingly lost to new generations, who like never before, live in a time when more information is available to almost everyone at their fingertips. But lost it is becoming at a time when its significance is not only most needed, but its relevance is greater than ever. Let me explain.
There is something inherent within the human heart that recognizes good and evil, not only within others, but within ourselves as well. We can, ironically, see evil at work in ourselves, despise it, and do it anyway. We associate God with all good, or at least that seems to be the way it should be, that God represents all that is good. However, when the world is full of so much evil, we question God’s wisdom, God’s ways, or even God’s existence. It just seems to be easier to reject, or deny, a God that would allow evil to exist and suffering of all magnitudes to continue, seemingly unchecked. Because, after all, if God is a true god at all, He must be able to stop the madness in a heartbeat, and should want to. So, then, what is the plan? What significance can the birth of a small child have? Yet, that is the claim, that this Child born of a virgin, laid in a stable has some significance. At His birth the angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth, goodwill to men.” But that was so long ago! Where is the promised peace and goodwill to all? How can one blame ordinary folks for their focus on secular legends and fairy tales of flying sleighs and reindeer?
Herein lies the mystery: This Child, Jesus, God in the flesh, came to announce the beginning of His Kingdom, which has come, and is coming on the earth, and to dwell among us for a short time. He said His Kingdom would start small, but would grow and eventually fill the whole earth! Two thousand years later, He has more followers than ever before. There are many counterfeit followers, but many real ones as well. And in those true followers we get a glimpse of the peace and love that will one day come upon the whole earth, because His promised Holy Spirit dwells within each one even today! God dwells among us in His Spirit, and has promised that He will destroy all evil and bring His Kingdom to its fullness, and will once again dwell among us, but not as a child, not as a suffering servant, but as a glorious conquering King! As the Psalmist put it so well:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron[b];
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:7-12)
For too many, however, this may not seem like Good News, especially those who stand to lose the most. And many others simply choose not to believe the historical accounts, or the future expectations, but rather to profit from the ignorance of the masses who, often without question, simply follow the seasonal protocol, buying and gifting without understanding that the original gift to the world was given as a promise that, ready or not, change will be coming soon! But how can this God allow such travesties and evil to continue in the mean time? Because humanity must learn that evil will not be defeated by our own efforts, no matter how self-righteous we see ourselves, but only by Him who is the essence of all good. And this evil is meant to stand in stark contrast to the good that will prevail in order that those who truly want good, will seek it and find it in in Him, and those who do not, will be made known for who they really are. And He waits for us to choose.
So, is God really with us? Truly he was when he came in bodily form. Many missed him the first time he came, and today, most are oblivious to His presence. But He is with us, even among us, in those who contain His Spirit, and we can get a glimpse of him in those who have chosen Him over the evil of this current age. It is those, also, who become the embodiment of the promised peace and goodwill to all men. And, it is those who will join Him in His new Kingdom when He returns. Will you be one of them? The choice is yours.
Categories: Discovery, Kingdom of God, Messiah
Beyond Traditon 
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