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

One of my favorite things to celebrate during the Christmas season is the concept of “Immanuel”.  It’s a big fancy word that is rarely used 11 months out of the year, but in December we get to remember the meaning of this amazing idea.

Immanuel is what happened when God chose to break history open and reach down to our earth.  He sent Jesus, who is 100% God, to walk the dust of our planet and give blood, sweat and tears in order to reclaim a relationship with us.

And it all started with “with us”.  God has no business being “with us”! He’s perfect! We’re wretched! Yet as Immanuel, God set His rights aside and joined our ranks. He became “with us” because He a relationship with us was the most important thing in the world to Him.

Sometimes I struggle to have that attitude. I get hyper-focused on WHAT I’m doing, or WHERE I’m going that I put relationships to the side. I occasionally find it difficult to be “Michael with others.” Especially with my family.

How about you? Do you maintain the attitude of humility that our Savior held when He chose to be with us? During this Christmas season when we find ourselves cramped up with extended family…do you complain about it…or are you brimming with joy because you are just excited to share relationships with others?

This year, let’s look for chances to celebrate “God with us” by celebrating “us with others.”  Let’s do what God did, and put our relationships first!