The Songs Of ChristmasSample

Inspired by "Christmas This Year" by TobyMac

While Christmas is often associated with special memories that warm our hearts and fill us with joy, it can also become a lonely season for many people. For those who’ve lost a loved one, Christmas reminds them that someone is missing. For those who are lonely, the feeling is amplified. For some of us, Christmas is about distance.

That distance is something we can all likely relate to. We understand what it means to feel far from God. We know what it means to feel guilt, shame, fear and doubt. God seems far away. We wonder how we could ever be loved. The distance sets in.

Perhaps the most beautiful word associated with the Christmas story speaks a resounding answer for this distance that we feel, whether it’s associated with the holidays or not.

Emmanuel.

Emmanuel is actually two Hebrew words placed together meaning “God with us.” It was a term given to Joseph in Matthew’s gospel that not only pointed back to its origin in the book of Isaiah but also gave a profound depth to what was actually taking place in the birth of Jesus.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” (Matthew 1:22-23)

Emmanuel is God’s way of answer the distance once and for all. No longer does creation have to feel distant from the Creator. No longer do we need to feel alone, isolated, abandoned or afraid. The distance has been eliminated, replaced by a close presence we’ve been hungry for all along. Emmanuel. God is now truly with us.

Consider the original audience for these words. Joseph and Mary were marginalized and poor. They were oppressed minorities in an Empire that barely acknowledged their existence. Even though they were subjected to Roman tyranny, they still believed that trusted in the one true God. A God who likely felt pretty far away at times.

In Psalm 10, the writer asks, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” It is a reminder that distance is something all of us feel as humans. The beautiful news is that God has provided an answer.

We are no longer distant. Emmanuel. God is now with us, now and forevermore.

Hear TobyMac's "Christmas This Year" here.