The first verse of a hymn frequently sung this time of year says, referring to Jesus: “. . . Born the gracious news to tell, / God with us, Immanuel” (Marion Susan Campbell, Christian Science Hymnal, No. 11). The spiritual message that God is with us is indeed gracious news to both hear and tell.
Despite the fact that the term Immanuel has different spellings and somewhat different meanings, its central message is clear: God is with us! Jesus illustrated the powerful extent of Immanuel in healing the sick and freeing the sinful. He proved that nothing could remove the presence and power of God in his life—or anyone else’s. Not even dying on the cross could deny the effectual working of Immanuel, for Jesus was resurrected from the grave. Now and forever, the fact that God is with us, with each one of us, is the spiritual reality of man’s true and eternal existence. Consciously celebrating Immanuel as the real meaning of Christmas lifts these celebrations into healing prayer.
Even though at some given moment, during the holidays or otherwise, one’s circumstances may seem most ungodlike, we are not forsaken. We can say and feel, in the words of one of the Biblical psalmists as he spoke directly to God, “I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand” (Ps. 73:23).
