[One of a series of ‘Midday Meditations’ broadcast on Radio Cayman in January 2016.]
Most of the best moments in our lives involve closeness with someone: our partner, children, family or friends – they’re the moments we really cling to and savour. So it is that God’s greatest gift to us is being with us.
‘Emmanuel’ is one of the famous names of Jesus from Old Testament prophecy, given by the prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus walked the earth. It means ‘God with us’ and reminds us that God being with His people is the point of everything he does for his people. In the Old Testament the prophet Ezekiel spoke of a city of paradise called simply, “The Lord is there”. In the New Testament we read about Jesus the Son of God, sent from God, whose name is Emmanuel, God with us. It was his sacrifice that ultimately made it possible for God to be with us because he paid the price for the sin of everyone who would truly repent.
Imagine your greatest moments of togetherness with those you love most. And then imagine that a thousand fold, and you’ve still not begun to understand the wonderful closeness of God being with you. A closeness that comes only through the work of Emmanuel himself.
Paul T Reynolds 