In honor of tonight, the Christmas Eve Pre-party:
After leading the people out of Egypt, one of Moses' first tasks was to build the tabernacle, a place where God would descend to dwell among the people. This was a temporary, movable meeting place. Many years later, Solomon would build the temple, a more permanent, glorious place for God to meet His people.
It was while the temple was still serving its purpose that the prophet Isaiah gave an astounding prophecy: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel — God with us.
What made this prophecy so incredible was that one day, God's presence would not just inhabit a building; it would manifest itself in human form, the person of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:23). In the coming of Jesus, God dwelt among us in the most tangible and personal way possible. He became us.
…But if God is with me — and in me — it stands to reason I can and must be His presence to others.
…We, those who are Christ's bondservants, are His presence to others. As a teen I frequently heard the words, “You may be the only Bible someone ever reads.” The familiarity of those words does not make them invalid. The truth is, “God with us” means “us with others.”
Read the whole article on Boundless (there’s much more). It talks practically about how to be Christ’s ambassadors to others, whether during Christmas or during any other wonderful time of the year.
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