The first week of December is here and Christmas is just around the bend.  With the onslaught of the holidays there is much to do and much to remember.  There are Christmas presents to buy, trees to decorate, parties to attend, family to entertain and on and on the list goes.  Through the hustle and bustle it is clear that the Christmas message still thrives. As families gather to eat their feasts, a blessing will be said that reminds everyone the understated reason for the season.
            Matthew 1:23 clearly defines the meaning of Christmas.  It says, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel , which being interpreted is, God with us.”  God with us.  Not God for us or God around us but God with us.  This season we celebrate the fact that God is not sitting on some throne watching over us, using us as his prime time entertainment.  Rather He is God with us.  Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities…”.  God is not some distant god or even worse, a false god that has not feeling or emotion.  He is a living God and He became like us, took on flesh and became a man, dwelt among us, and died for us so that we could be in His presence again. 
            That is the reason for the season.  To celebrate that our God loved us enough that He himself came down to this earth and lived among us just so we could be with Him.  As you rip paper off of cardboard boxes and chow down on great meals, remember, the whole reason we have Christmas is to remember that God loved us so much that he became Emmanuel, God with us.  During this holiday season, know that you are not alone, God is with you.