“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – - which means, ‘God with us.’”
- Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV)
“And surely I am *with you* always, to the very end of the age.”
- Matthew 28:20 (NIV)
Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy and the story of Jesus’ (Immanuel’s) birth. He ends it with Jesus’ promise to be “with us”.
As we leave 2011 and enter 2012, let us remember that God has not broken His promise. He is “with us” in the good times. He is “with us” when all around is chaos. He is “with us” in our deepest hurts and highest joys. There is no place we can go where He cannot reach us or be near us (Ps. 139:7-10).
That should inspire us to try new things, to step out on faith, and to go boldly in righteousness (doing right things, for the right reasons) out into a world that needs light and truth. The world doesn’t need more chastisement and failed leadership; it needs more love and authenticity.
If we truly believe that God is “with us”, what will we do differently in 2012?
